Miyako
by CorneroftheMoon
Summary: What are three men to do when a mysterious rain soaked girl appears on the doorstep of the home Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo share? What secrets will be uncovered about her past, as well as Akito's and Shigure's? And what's this, another zodiac animal? AkitoxOC
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: Hey everyone, I am really going to put a lot of effort into this story. I do have problems with the first chapter, but hopefully this will draw your attention. Thanks for reading and please review! Also, this is all from the anime, I have never read the books (sorry, I've been meaning to).  
PS I don't own any of the characters that don't belong to me (duh).

_**Chapter One: Kyo's Pov.**_

"Baka nezumi, these noodles are too dry." I grumbled, glaring down at my bowl.

Not only were the noodle too dry and tasteless, but it was raining. Yep, my night can't get any better.

"Well next time you can make dinner taidana neko." Yuki commented.

"I sure could do better than you." I shouted.

He simply looked up and raised an eyebrow.

"Now boys, don't get into a fight. Just because Tohru left on vacation doesn't mean you both get to fight, especially if that means destroying my house." Shigure commented, happily slurping his noodles.

We both turned to glare at him. Why did he have to bring that up? It had only been a day since Tohru had left, and already we were suffering, the house was a mess and not to mention the quality of our food had gone way down.

Tohru had been invited to Uo's summer home somewhere in the mountains of Japan, and Tohru being Tohru, she couldn't very well say no, so she left two teenage boys and a man with the maturity of a six year old alone in a house without even leaving any pre-prepared meals.

He glanced up to see our scowls.

"What?" He said innocently.

Yuki sighed and went back to his noodles.

"Stupid dog." I grumbled.

As soon as we finished, I retreaded into the living room, to get out of washing the dishes, leaving the rat to do it all by himself. He can handle it, besides, I need to sit down. The rain drains my energy.

"Well Kyo, how are you today?" Shigure settled his back against the wall, his kimono pooling underneath his folded legs.

I looked at him.

"Fine, fine, sorry I asked." He held his hands up in surrender, and then got up and retreated back to his office to do some "work" even though he was probably thinking of new ways to torture his publisher. He's lucky that he writes such good novels, or else she would've dumped him years ago.

Even though I feel a little bit of sympathy towards the woman, I don't feel too much. It's actually quite amusing to watch.

I heard the clinking of dishes as the stupid rat washed up the dishes. We weren't physically fighting as much; just a lot of bickering went on between us.

But then, underneath the noise in the kitchen and the relentless pounding of the pouring rain outside, I heard a faint, sickly noise.

"Hey rat, be quiet for a second." I yelled.

The kitchen became silent, much to my surprise, and Yuki quietly came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel before putting the cloth down on the back of a chair.

After a minute he spoke.

"What is it cat?"

I cocked my head and listened intensely.

"Nothing I guess." I groaned the rain must've messed with my mind more than usual.

Yuki stood still.

Then the noise came again. It was a scratching sound.

"Did you hear that?" The rat asked me.

I nodded and got up.

Shigure met us in the hallway.

"Did you" He began, but I cut him off.

"Yes dog, we heard it too and no, we weren't making the noise. It came from outside." I pointed to the door.

The three of us shuffled to the paper door that we had secured against the rain just a few hours ago, and Yuki pulled it open.

A huge gust of wind splattered us with the heavy rain droplets that were still falling from the unusually darkened night sky.

Peering into the darkness I saw nothing.

"I guess it was just the rain." I proclaimed and turned to go back, when Yuki stopped me.

"What?" I growled, cold.

He pointed down, and Shigure and I both followed his finger.

In a heap was a small, naked figure lying on their stomach. It was a girl, no older than me or Yuki. Her long black hair pooled around her body, and her pale skin was turning blue in the cold.

"Oh my." Shigure gasped.

Suddenly, the girl turned her head, and her eyes snapped open.

They were a familiar brown, too familiar. But I couldn't quite place them.

But Shigure could.

"Miyako?" He gasped.

She tried to look up at the dog, but she couldn't.

_"Help me, please." _She whispered, before her eyes closed.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: I don't own any of these characters; I really, really wish I did though.

_**Chapter Two: Kyo's Pov.**_

"Get her inside and someone grab some towels and a warm blanket." Shigure instructed, getting over his formerly glazed look, and racing towards the fallen girl.

He gently shook her limp shoulder, trying in vain to get her to move again. But she never stirred.

The rat darted inside, his grey hair disappearing inside the warm house, leaving me to help Shigure.

Gently, I lifted the unconscious girl into my arms, and with Shigure's help, I carried her to living room and laid her down on the couch.

The girl fell so limply into the cushions; I believed that she was dead. But then I saw the staggered and shallow rising and falling of her chest.

"Here you go Shigure." Yuki arrived in the room carrying a pile of blankets and towels.

"Thank you Yuki." Shigure bent over the girl, and started rubbing her down, gently. Normally, I would've made a joke about him being a perverted dog, but right now we don't really have a choice.

But then out of the corner of my eye, I saw something glimmer in the low light of the house; I looked closer, and discovered that tears were slowly running down his cheeks.

"Are you alright Shigure?" Yuki asked gently, noticing the tears too.

"Yes, of course. Could you get me some warm water and a cloth? We need to get her body temperature up."

Yuki and I left to get him what he had asked for.

"What do ya think that was about?" I asked Yuki when we were out of hearing range.

"I don't know. But she looks familiar doesn't she?" The nezumi looked distant.

I shrugged.

"Maybe." I answered, remembering the familiar color of her chocolate eyes.

We worked in silence, Yuki filling up a small bowl of warm water, and I heading to the small supply closet in the kitchen for a clean rag.

We entered the living room quietly, a little cautiously. We hadn't seen Shigure like this before, the care free and childish dog was obviously upset by the condition of the strange girl. And where did the dog even know the rain soaked figure?

Although I guess it wasn't so hard to believe that Shigure, who knows practically everyone, would not know someone as, strange, as this girl.

As we peered on the couch, we saw that Shigure had dressed the girl in one of his own kimonos; it looked surprisingly good on her even though it was loose and hung off her shoulders. Shigure was sitting on the couch, gently stroking the girl's long hair, her head rested in his lap.

He looked, protective, more protective than I have ever seen him. He was simply staring down at the small girl, just looking down whilst his chocolate eyes filling with unshed tears.

His head whipped up when he heard Yuki clear his throat.

"Ah, that you Yuki, thank you Kyo." He smiled as we handed him the bowl and cloth.

He dipped the cloth into the water, and gently stroked the girl's forehead.

I glanced at Yuki, who merely shrugged and looked back down at Shigure.

"Should we call Hatori?" I suggested.

"Excellent idea, can you get me the phone Yuki?" Shigure proclaimed.

Yuki grabbed the phone and handed it to Shigure who was still seated on the couch.

"Ah, Hatori, how are you?" The dog questioned into the phone.

"Good, good, we have an injured girl over here you see" And Shigure began to inform Hatori of the nights events.

After a long pause he reached over and grabbed her wrist.

And then after about thirty seconds he responded with a number, I wasn't able to catch it. I was too busy staring at the girl. Her long black hair had dried a little, and she looked like she was warming up well, a little color chasing out the blue on her skin.

"Alright, thank you Hatori. Yes, yes, you too. Goodbye now." Shigure put the phone down on the table next to him.

"Okay you two, help me get her to my room. Hatori says she should be fine in the morning. In the mean time, I think she should at least be comfortable, don't you?" Shigure smiled happily. I could almost see him in dog form wagging his tail.

We both nodded, and I grabbed the strangers feet whilst Yuki grabbed her arms. We gently lifted her, and carried her up the stairs, all the while Shigure giving us reminders to be careful and to watch her head, and my grumbled irritated responses soon following.

Then, we finally got to Shigure's room. As we lay her down on the large bed, I breathed a sigh of relief. Not because she was heavy, in fact she had been very light carrying, but because Shigure's constant nagging had gotten tiring. Dumb inu.

"Alright, we better get to sleep now. We'll check back on her tomorrow morning. If you need me, I'll be down on the couch." Shigure sighed happily, admiring the girl who was tucked securely under the warm covers, obviously very pleased with himself. That's the Shigure we knew.

I might actually miss the depressed side of the dog. Then again, probably not, it was hilarious to wreck his house, if he was crying too much he may not even care.

Which reminds me, I was supposed to be fighting with Yuki. I suppose he remembered too, and soon enough we were bickering about some meaningless thing until I broke something, and Shigure yelled at us to stop destroying his house.

Yep, everything was back to normal, or as normal as the Sohma family ever gets while there's a soaked girl sleeping in a dog's bed upstairs.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Three- Kyo's Pov**_

The next morning, I walked out of my door, heading towards Shigure's room, only to run right into a sleepy Yuki.

"Watch it you damn rat." I growled.

Yuki merly continued walking towards Shigure's room. It seemed like we both had the same idea, to check on the girl we had found in the rain.

And as we opened the door, we found we weren't the only ones.

Shigure was there too, standing over his empty bed.

Wait, his _empty_ bed?

"She's gone." Shigure sighed unhappily.

I looked to the rat, who was still staring at the rumpled sheets.

"Oh well, I didn't really expect her to stay, let's get started on breakfast shall we?" Shigure smiled forcefully.

"Sure, I'm hungry." I muttered, disappointed that now I wouldn't get to know who she was.

We trotted down the stairs, Yuki almost falling down. He really isn't a morning person.

"You really aren't a morning person are you, you damn rat." I growled at him when he tripped on the stairs and, of course, used me to stop his fall.

"Is that a problem for you baka neko?" He glared back, righting himself.

And then we bickered back and forth until we reached the kitchen.

Angry, I raised my fist to attempt to hit Yuki, disregarding the fact that Yuki fights even better in the morning, when the sight in front of me stopped me.

"What the heck?" I muttered.

Everything was gone. Not everything of course, just the ingredients that was supposed to make our breakfast.

"What is it Kyo?" Shigure asked, and then noticed the cleared counters.

"How strange, I thought I put all of those out before dinner." He raised his eyebrows.

"Oh well, maybe I put them back in the night, I have been prone to sleepwalking on occasion." Shigure rubbed his neck, and then started for the fridge, when, in a blur of grey and black, the dog was flattened to the floor.

"Shishi!" A happy voice exclaimed, as Yuki and I stared at the sight before us.

Shigure was on the floor, with a small figure sitting on top of him, wearing his grey kimono, and with long black shaggy hair, that had previously been soaked in the rain the night before.

"Mimi? You stayed?" Shigure's voice was slightly muffled due to his face still being pressed into the floor, but apparently he know the girl well enough to recognize her voice.

"Of course silly, and I made you all breakfast! It's nice to finally meet you both; you are Yuki and Kyo, correct?" The girl smiled.

Yuki and I nodded, and I noticed that Yuki was fully awake now. Figures.

The girl got off of Shigure, giggling, and helped him up.

They stared at each other for a second, smiled, and then Shigure grabbed her into a tight hug. She hugged him back equally hard, the dog gently bending down to allow her to wrap her arms around his neck.

When they finally pulled back, Shigure gently kissed the girl on her forehead.

"It's good to have you back Miyako." He laughed, wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Shigure, you didn't, change?" Yuki asked.

That's when I realized, Shigure didn't transform into his dog form. That could only mean, no impossible, there couldn't be, no. There wasn't, there couldn't be another zodiac, could there? I mean, I sorta defy all the logic to there not being an additional animal by merely existing, but wouldn't we have met her by now?

"Anyways, breakfast is ready! I don't want it to be too cold." The girl smiled, pulled on Shigure's hand, leading him to the dining room.

The rat and I just stood in shock.

What the hell had just happened?

"What the hell just happened?" I asked, not to keep my thoughts to myself.

Yuki shrugged, and then followed the dog.

My eyes narrowed, but I followed, right after I grabbed the carton of milk that was in the fridge.

"So, where did you come from?" Yuki asked, asking the question that had been blaring in my mind ever since we discovered the soaked girl on our doorstep, as we all sat down around the table.

The table was piled full of food, tons and tons of food. More food than even Toruh had ever prepared for one breakfast.

"Just the mountains, it started raining and all, I don't deal with rain well." She answered sheepishly. But I could feel that wasn't the entire story.

"Wow, I see you still have your cooking talent." Shigure sighed happily, inhaling the scent of the delicious looking food.

"Thank you Shishi." She grinned, pleased.

Shigure dug right in, giving many compliments to the mystery girl, who grinned at each comment.

But Yuki and I just stared at her, until Shigure noticed.

"Is something wrong?" The dog asked, food stuffed in his mouth.

"Nothing really, we're just eating breakfast made by a girl we don't know, sitting next to a girl we don't know, all while you are happy and joking with a girl we don't even know the name of!" I yelled angrily, my anger exploding.

Shigure whimpered slightly.

"I'm sorry; I did forget to introduce myself, how silly. I guess I was just caught up in seeing Shishi again. My name is Miyako, Miyako Sohma."

And then the next words that came out of her mouth were not only the most shocking, but they explained everything. They explained why she was so familiar; they explained why her eyes were so familiar, and this was all in four little words.

"I'm Shigure's little sister."


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Four- Kyo's Pov**_

_And then the next words that came out of her mouth were not only the most shocking, but they explained everything. They explained why she was so familiar; they explained why her eyes were so familiar, and this was all in four little words._

"_I'm Shigure's little sister."_

"WHAT?" I yelled, bouncing up from the table.

"What?" Yuki's eyes widened in his surprise.

Shigure and Miyako looked at each other, laughed, and then turned back to us.

"Yes, I am Shigure's younger sister by eight years." She explained.

Yuki and I stared dumbfounded.

"You're kidding."

"No Kyo, this is very much true." Shigure answered.

"And you didn't once think to tell us that you had a little sister? And how is she part of the Sohma family if we never met her? Huh? And how is it" I was cut off by the girl.

"Relax cat, I'm sorta like you." She smiled.

My head tilted to the side.

"I'll leave Shishi to tell you all of that, but in the meantime, all you need to know is I've come here to spend time with my big brother and his friends!

"Hey, who you callin' a friend?" I growled.

"So, how long are you planning on staying with us?" Shigure asked excitedly.

"I don't actually know. I don't plan on returning to the mountains, or returning to Sohma house. I've been on the road for a while before I found you, and well, you see how that ended up, so homelessness isn't really a great option for me. Which reminds me, do you mind if I go take a shower?" She looked to Shigure, who nodded.

"Of course, Yuki, why don't you" Shigure began.

"That's okay Shishi, I already know where it is." She smiled, and darted up the stairs, and soon, we heard the water run.

Then I turned to Shigure.

"Please don't hurt me Kyokyo." The dog whimpered.

"I told you not to call me that! And at this point, I have every right to punch you through this roof!" I threatened, grabbing the front of his kimono.

"Not my house…" He cried.

"Kyo, let Shigure down, he can't explain anything to us if he's unconscious." Yuki sighed.

"So, why haven't we seen your sister before. She looks as old as we are, that means we should've grown up together, especially if she's cursed as well." Yuki pointed out.

"Actually she's about a year older, but that's beside the point. You see, my sister hasn't always been this, happy and lighthearted. Well, half of her has, the other half, not so much." Shigure began, but I cut him off with a groan.

"Great, another Haru. For that matter, another Kagura! Please just kill me already!" I yelled.

Shigure gave an awkward laugh.

"Well, she's not quite as bad as either of those two, but she does have a tendency to, hmm, how do I put this. Well, amongst normal people I suppose doctors would call her bi-polar. But in reality, she just gets excited around a large group of people, or just uses her energy in short bursts, but then she eventually calms down. She's pretty much a mix between you and Yuki, Kyo. Not too quiet, and not to loud, not too shy and not to upfront. And she's a prankster, quite clever too." He chuckled as if remembering something from a while back.

"I do apologize for not telling you, it's just, well, I thought she had, died. Ren*, she was the one who forced Mimi to the mountains, she said that my little sister was just too much trouble, not good enough to be a Sohma. After that, I never saw her again, until now." He looked down at his hands.

We sat in silence for a while, before Yuki spoke up.

"Is she cursed as well?"

Shigure nodded.

"What animal?"

"I believe that she would rather tell you that. She does have a temper you know, almost as bad as Kyo's." The dog winked.

I growled at him.

We then heard the water shut off, and a few minutes later, the girl came down the stairs, still dressed in Shigure's kimono. But something was different, way different.

"What happened to your hair?" I yelled in surprise.

Her hair had changed from a normal shade of black, to a dark red, streaked a lighter orange. And peeking through, I could've sworn I saw a few strands of white as well.

"Nothing, the dye came out." She muttered, and then plunked herself down in the chair and closed her eyes.

Definitely bi-polar, and I became slightly annoyed. Great, just another one of those multi-personalities people that the Sohma family always managed to include.

She seemed to notice how I had reacted.

"Sorry, it seems I was running on, hyper energy. That's what happens when I get tired. I'm usually a little calmer. That and I was really excited to see Shishi again, after what, five years or so, I can't even remember." She smiled again.

Yuki nodded, but I still was a little uncertain. I certainly didn't want another Kagura in my life, one was already one too many.

"Well, I'll be back. I need to search for my bag, I think I dropped it somewhere in the woods." She said, and got up from her chair.

"Do you need any help?" Shigure asked.

She shook her head.

"No, I travel better alone." She smiled, and then waved.

As soon as the door slid shut, I glared at the dog.

"Don't worry Kyo, you'll get used to her. She's actually really nice.

*Ren= Akito's mother.

Authors Note: I'm sorry if this isn't my best chapter, it will get better! This was just a really awkward chapter! Actually, I'll have Ritsu apologize for me.

Ritsu: I'm so sorry! I am not worthy, you shouldn't even have to read this! WE ARE SO SORRY!

Echo: Kay, thanks. I hope you liked it. Stick around for more.

Ritsu: SORRRRRRYYYYY!


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter Five- Kyo's Pov**_

"Where is she?" Shigure asked nervously, watching from the paper door.

I looked up.

"I don't know." I muttered, how'd he expect me to know? It's not my fault his little sister wasn't back yet.

"Now Kyokyo, why so mean?" The dog whined.

I glared at him. "I told you not to call me that!"

Shigure sighed and resumed to stare out into the woods. I couldn't help but feel a little worried about Miyako, it was almost dinner time and she hadn't returned.

Yuki was up in his room, probably studying for the test we have tomorrow. Can you believe it? A test on a Monday, MONDAY! What a way to start out the week. Anyways, I was stuck downstairs with Shigure, I would be outside if it wasn't for the fact that I was just too tired from last night's and today's occurrences. That's why the dog is so worried about Miyako.

Suddenly, in a flash of grey and orange, Miyako darted in, jumping much higher then necessary to clear the steps, and landing right on me.

"Hey, get off!" I burst, trying to shake her, but she held tight.

I looked to Shigure, who chuckled. "Something must've startled her. What's wrong Mimi?"

After about a minute of clinging to me, she finally let go, and stood up.

"Nothing really, I just got, a little jumpy I guess. I sometimes get that way." She answered sheepishly.

I glared, but I found that I couldn't really stay mad at her, or really be mad at her at all. She was sorta like Tohru, but with less apologizing and with, so far, less manners. Not that that's a bad thing or anything, in fact, it's refreshing to be able to talk to a girl that doesn't apologize or worry every minute. Not saying that I don't like Tohru, but it's just a change.

I heard Yuki's light footsteps coming down the stairs.

"What's for dinner?" Yuki asked.

"Like I would know you damn rat." I groaned. That's right, we don't have Tohru.

"How did you all survive? What, has there been another girl here? Or maybe a boy who knows more about housekeeping and cooking than all three of you combined!" Miyako joked.

Shigure shifted uncomfortably.

"Wait, I know that look. Okay, spill. Who's the newcomer?" She put her hands on her hips.

"Well, you see, there's this girl named Tohru Honda, and" But he was cut off.

"I already know about Miss Honda, wait, she's still around? I thought her memory would be wiped by now." Miyako was obviously surprised.

Shigure shook his head.

"No, our little flower is still with us, making our days brighter and cooking for us. Oh, you should see this little maid outfit I got her, it's…"

Miyako slapped him on the back of his head.

"I am really surprised you haven't been arrested yet, honestly I am. I'll go and make dinner seeing as all of you are hopeless." She sighed.

"Right after I change into my _own _clothes." And the new girl went upstairs to the bathroom to change.

"Hey, Shigure, where's she going to sleep?" I questioned.

There was a pause, which I took as a bad sign.

"Um, I don't know, we'll figure it out a little later." Shigure smiled, always putting off problems.

Soon enough, I heard steps coming down the stairs.

"Okay, time to prepare dinner." I heard Miyako's voice.

I turned around to see a really beautiful Sohma in front of me.

Miyako's long hair had been brushed into a clean cut, hanging around her shoulders, and she had put on her own clothes, finally. She was wearing a black turtleneck sweater and brown cargo pants, almost exactly like mine. And she was barefoot.

I got snapped out of staring at her when Yuki punched me in my arm.

"What the hell was that for you damn rat!" I yelled, recovering.

Yuki simply raised his eyebrows in amusement.

"Ah, isn't my little sister beautiful? Such a sight." Shigure sighed happily.

"Oh shut up Shishi." Miyako rolled her eyes and retreated into the kitchen.

Who could've thought that Shigure, of all people, would have a beautiful little sister?

"Impressive isn't she? Maybe Tohru can have some competition now!" Shigure laughed.

Yuki and I glared at him.

"Okay, maybe not." He squeaked and cowered.

Soon, we were being called for dinner.

Food covered the table, rice, fish, and, no, not….

"Leaks!" I yelled.

Miyako looked up.

"You don't like leaks? Funny, Shigure said you did." She frowned.

Slowly, I turned my head to the dog.

"Please, don't hurt me." He whimpered.

"Run for your life dog." I growled, getting up.

And Shigure sure did run, straight to his office and shut the door.

"Damn dog." I muttered, and sat back down.

His little sister was laughing.

"You sure have him terrified." She giggled.

I glanced at her. Shouldn't she be supporting her brother?

"Shouldn't you be supporting your brother?" The rat questioned, practically reading my mind.

"With an older brother like him? No way, you forget, I had to grow up with that perverted dog." She laughed again, and then grabbed some more rice.

And as I settled down, Yuki started talking to Miyako, and we actually started a pleasant conversation between us. Even though it did end with a fight between Yuki and I, causing me to be kicked out the door, and Shigure run out crying about his poor house, it was a great night. And even as I lay there, my head resting against the large rock outside where I landed, as Miyako giggled to herself from the now drafty entrance to our house, I had a feeling that Miyako would be a nice new addition to the family. Just wait until Tohru got home, now that's going to be interesting.

Thankfully we'll have time to prepare; she doesn't get back until two weeks from now.

**Author's Note: So sorry if this wasn't my best, again, an awkward chapter, that and I'm pretty sick. But don't worry, the next chapter, I promise, will be AMAZING! PLEASE review! Or email me! Or anything, feedback is luved!**

**Love you all for reading and sticking with me so far, and I promise, I'll make it worth your while.**


	6. Chapter 6

_And even as I lay there, my head resting against the large rock outside where I landed, as Miyako giggled to herself from the now drafty entrance to our house, I had a feeling that Miyako would be a nice new addition to the family. Just wait until Tohru got home, now that's going to be interesting._

_ Thankfully we'll have time to prepare; she doesn't get back until two weeks from now._

**Chapter Six- Miyako's Pov**

I leaned up against the door frame; the paper of the door now contained a gaping hole. I laughed as Kyo yelled at Yuki, and the two engaged in another one of their fights.

It was endearing actually, really quite sweet. The way Kyo was so determined, the way Yuki secretly admired the cat, and I could truly see them, one day, as friends.

But that was going to be in the future. For now, they would argue and fight. But enemies are not the opposite of friends, indifference about the other, now that is the opposite of friendship, for if they don't even care, if they disregard each other, if they were completely without feeling for the other, than that would be closer to hopelessness than they are now.

"Interesting aren't they?" My brother laughed, watching as Kyo lashed out, and the rat easily dodged each of his cousin's punches.

"Yes, very. Kyo fights with too much anger, he isn't focusing. Yuki is only winning because he can keep a clear head and defogged eyes, whilst Kyo is consumed by his own irritation which makes it impossible for him to focus on winning, only beating. Winning is different than beating and loosing is different than being defeated." I observed.

"Since when did my sister become such an insightful person?" Shigure elbowed me.

"Since she was stuck in a Buddhist mountain temple with men that had bald heads and spoke nothing but quotes of _wise _and _insightful_ people; it tends to rub off on you. Except for the shaving of the head, I like my hair longer." I winked and elbowed him back.

We laughed together, our laughter joining together. It had been so long since I had been able to laugh with my brother, it felt really good, releasing, as if a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

"Anyways, where would you like to sleep?" Shishi asked me.

I shrugged. "You know where I like to sleep, but I suppose anywhere would do."

"Well, I'm not letting you sleep outside, no matter how much you want to. How about I pull out a futon and put it in my office. It's nice and warm in there, and dark. It'll do fine if you want." He offered.

I nodded thanks, and turned back to the fight.

"Do you think they'll become friends?" I questioned quietly.

"I don't know." My brother responded.

I turned back to him.

"I think it will." I smiled, and then leaned up against his chest. He gently looped his arms around my shoulders, and I sighed, happily closing my eyes.

I could still hear the amusing bickering and provoking comments that Kyo consistently, and the bored tone that Yuki constantly replied in.

Then I heard another crash, and Shigure yelled "Not my house! Alright, you two will have to repair that!"

I giggled. Poor dog, so protective of his home, I almost felt bad for him, I almost went and split the two fighters up, but I decided against it. He is my big brother after all; I deserve to watch him squirm.

I felt Shigure release me and opened my eyes to see him running toward the sound of the crash, causing me to laugh. I really think I will enjoy living here.

Then I thought of Tohru. What would she be like?

My eyes narrowed. Would she be selfish? Would she be demanding?

_No, remember what you heard? _I reminded myself. I had heard that she was sweet, caring, and polite.

I wonder if we'll be friends, or if she even would want to be my friend.

No, of course not, it wouldn't even matter if she _was_ the friendliest person in the world; nobody would ever be my friend. I'm only trouble.

My mind wandered back, back to when I still was at the Sohma house, back when I wished I could die.

_"You little brat, you think you're so clever don't you? Well, try to weasel your way out of this!" Ren yelled at a small girl with dark red hair, with streaks of orange and white. The girl cowered, curling into a ball, but the angry woman just kicked her, with such force that it sent her hurdling into the wall._

_ "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to" The girl was cut off by another kick._

_ "You're just trouble, that's all you'll ever be! Trouble! You're not even worthy of being cursed, you're not even worthy of living! And you will never, ever, be part of the zodiac! You will always be that little troublemaking girl, forever cast out of the family of outcasts." She screamed, slamming the girl's head back into the stone walls using her unusual hair as her grip._

_ The little child screamed in pain, and a small stream of blood began to mat into the already blood colored hair._

_ "Oh, I'm sorry, did I make you bleed? Be grateful you stupid worm, that's the only reminder that you're still alive. But soon enough, I'll make you wish you were dead. Dead and buried." She slapped the girl hard, who had crawled into a corner, attempting to protect herself as much as she could._

_ "Why couldn't you've been like your brother? He's so much more obedient than you, so much less trouble than you. You see, he actually belongs; he belongs in the world, for he is the dog. But why are you here, why were you born? You aren't part of the zodiac; you aren't even part of the story like that disgusting cat is. You are useless, you are only trouble." Ren had leaned down so her cold and cruel brown eyes could meet the child's own teary chocolate ones._

_ They stared at each other for a while; the woman's narrowed eyes glaring into the child's wide ones, ones filled with fear and pain._

_ "I don't think you've learned your lesson yet." Ren finally decided._

_ "I have, I'm so sorry, really, I'm so sorry, I don't mean to be trouble, I don't" But once again the child was cut off by a brutal slap to her face._

_ "Did I say you could speak you little bitch?" Ren glared._

_ Slowly the child shook her head._

_ "Then don't." She snarled, and then got up, her long black dress swishing as the woman walked to the door._

_ Relief began to invade the child's frightened eyes, until the woman turned around again, this time, with a small leather strap._

_ The girl pressed herself further into the wall, wishing she could just disappear, sink into the wall, and escape from the world she had no rightful place in. _

_ "I'm sorry; did you think it was over sweetheart? Oh no no no, that was only the beginning." The cruel laugh echoed in the child's small ears, making her wince._

_ She knew what was to come next._

_ Until what seemed like hours later the little girl, but only minutes to the woman, Ren left, but not without shutting the metal door tightly behind her._

_ The little child managed to stay conscious long enough to hear the sliding of a bolt that would keep the girl inside, and would make any inhabitants think little of the small metal door, perhaps dismissing it as a small supply closet, until the family doctor would finally come in, perhaps the next morning, perhaps later, and treat the still bleeding and freshly bruised young girl._

_ That was that girl's life. That was how she grew up. That was where she stayed, carefully hidden from all but her brother by the monstrous Ren._

_ So many times was she dragged back to that room, so many times were the same lies uttered the impressionable girl, so many times were these lies beat into her, that those lies became the truth._

_ That little girl was me. And in many ways, that little girl still is me. That cowering, frightened and abused child was still very much a part of me. But that part of the little girl, the part that kept her determined to prove that yes, she did have a place in the world, that yes, she was not just a troublemaker, but could be just as great as everyone else._

"You okay Mimi?" My brother's voice dragged me out of my memories.

"Hmm? Yeah, why'd you ask?" I forced out a smile.

"You seemed, distant. Not sick are you?" The dog joked.

"No, don't worry Shishi. I'm fine. Just tired I suppose." I gave him a lopsided smile, trying to make myself look as tired as I could.

"I'll go get that futon for you." And the dog hustled off.

But the truth was, I didn't want to sleep. I never did, for sleep was when Ren always returned to me. No matter how far I went, I couldn't escape her, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't forget her, and no matter the time that it had been since I last was thrown into that stone room, I felt as though the scars I was left with were renewed, every time I went to sleep.

**Author's Note/Author's Worries/Author's Thank You's: **Thank you, thank you, thank you, for reading this story! I'm so glad you decided to stick with it! I hope this was alright! I really feel good about this chapter! Tell me what you think, REVIEW! I REALLY love reviews! They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to think someone actually cares! I hope that I will be able to update this week, school is starting again for me, and I was out sick today so that's why I got two chapters done. Please don't kill me if I miss a day, I'll REALLY try not to!

-Echo


	7. Chapter 7

_But the truth was, I didn't want to sleep. I never did, for sleep was when Ren always returned to me. No matter how far I went, I couldn't escape her, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't forget her, and no matter the time that it had been since I last was thrown into that stone room, I felt as though the scars I was left with were renewed, every time I went to sleep._

_**Chapter Seven- Shigure's Pov**_

__As I pulled the final blanket onto Miyako's bed, making sure it would be just rumpled enough for her, but not too rumpled so it seemed like I didn't care. My little sister had always been so particular about where she slept, and how it felt to her. I suppose it was because her animal nature always wanted something around it, someplace dark and warm.

"Is this all for me?" Her pleasant voice asked, amazed.

I got up from my former bent position, and nodded, smiling.

She leapt forward and gave me a tight hug, her feet lifting off the floor as she grabbed my neck.

"Thank you so much Shishi! You didn't forget!" She smiled a smile I had rarely seen at the Sohma house.

Whenever I was able to visit Miyako, sneak past the guards that Ren had posted, I had found that my sister no longer had possessed that happy smile I had seen on her for four years. No longer did she radiate that glowing light. She was, blank. Sometimes, I would think that she just wanted to disappear, to be blank, to be invisible. And I didn't blame her. Although I didn't know the extent of what Ren had done to her, if it was anything like how Akito behaved to Yuki and Kyo, I knew that my baby sister had suffered. She had suffered pain, more pain than anyone her age should ever have to suffer.

I gently threw her down on her bed, and she shrieked with laughter.

This was how I remembered it. I would pick her up and twirl her around in the air, her toddler legs spinning, her shrieks of happy laughter echoing throughout the house, brightening everybody's days, all except for Ren. Even Akito told me once, when he was on the edge of unconsciousness, that of all the things he would miss when he died, it would be Miyako's laughter. Of course, he was at the point of complete and utter hallucinations at that point, so I never took it too seriously, at least, until I lost her laughter as well. The world truly was a lonely place without her, without her laughter, without her light.

"So, what do you think of Kyo and Yuki?" I questioned as I turned off the light, the only light coming through the paper of the window and door.

"You already know that." She answered.

"I meant to you." I chuckled.

She thought for a moment. "I like them, they both seem very interesting, and I should like to know them better."

I nodded, smiling. It had been a long time since she had been with people her own age.

"I was able to get you into school, you start Tuesday." I announced.

I saw her shift from under her covers.

"I don't know." She muttered.

"Why?"

"It's been so long since I've been with anyone, near anyone except for Ren, you, and bald monks. That hasn't really given me many social skills." She yawned.

"I'm sure you'll do fine. If you do nearly as well as I did in high school, you're set." I assured her, causing her to burst out laughing.

"If I follow in your footsteps I'm going to be doomed. Is it a boy girl school?"

I nodded.

"Great, so there is a danger of transforming." Miyako sighed.

I nodded once again.

"Oh well, not like anyone will want to hug me!" She laughed, and then rolled back over.

But underneath, I could hear the sadness in her voice.

"Well, sleep tight Mimi." I kissed her forehead gently.

"'Night Shishi, love you." She whispered.

"Love you too." I said, and I opened the door, and walked up to my room.

Hopefully, she could find some friends to comfort her. And maybe, someday, she could even find someone to love.

**Author's Note: **Sorry this was a shorter chapter, I have a TON of homework, but don't worry, I'll get more up! Thanks for reading, and please review!


	8. Chapter 8 Part One

_Hopefully, she could find some friends to comfort her. And maybe, someday, she could even find someone to love._

_**Chapter Eight- Kyo's Pov**_

"Alright, pencils down everyone." The teacher instructed.

I groaned and let my head fall down on to the table. That was the worst test I had taken all year.

But amazingly that Yankee, Uo, didn't come up behind me to tease me about the test. Oh, that's right; she's still away, with Tohru. Geez, I almost miss her. Almost.

Unlike a lot of tests before, I didn't really get to study for this one. There had been way to little study time, caused by Miyako's arrival.

"So, how did you do cat?" The rat asked me as we walked towards home.

"Why'd you care?" I growled.

"Not so well huh? Figures." He laughed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I whipped around.

And then we fought all the way home and actually in the home, until we realized how quiet it was. Except for our bickering and fighting, the house was completely silent. No whimpering Shigure, or a giggling Miyako.

"Where are they?" I questioned out loud.

Yuki shrugged.

"It's not like Shigure doesn't go out when we're at school, so why shouldn't Miyako?" He figured.

I nodded, it was logical enough.

So with that, we went back to bickering.

It was only two hours later that we finally hear the door slide open.

"We're home!" Shigure called.

I came down to see Miyako looking really and royally pissed off. If looks would kill I was sure Shigure and Ayame would be dead.

Wait, Ayame?

"What the hell is he doing here?" My eyes widened.

"What's going on?" Yuki asked, coming down the stairs.

As soon as he saw his brother, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Well, now everyone has annoying brothers. Can I leave now?" Miyako growled.

"No no Mimi, not yet! I just got here!" Ayame protested.

"I've been with you all afternoon; I think we both got enough of each other." She groaned, sitting down and burying her head in her hands.

I was still steaming.

"Will you get him out?" I yelled to Yuki.

"Would he ever be here if I could?" He yelled in return.

I growled.

"Now now boys, don't fight! I just came here to complete my shopping day with my darling Mimi by seeing my one and only brother." Ayame explained dramatically.

Ouch, shopping with Ayame, painful. No wonder Miyako looked so pissed.

"Just wait 'till you see what we managed to find for her! We got her new pants so she doesn't have to wear that one pair, and new shirts, and new"

"Shut up Shigure!" She yelled, pouncing on him.

It was really amazing how well she was able to pounce; it was like she leapt into the air, straight up, before gently arching and landing. Even I, with my own cat reflexes and agility, was jealous.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop talking!" He whimpered in defeat.

"That would be a miracle." She muttered, not moving off him, but merely sitting down right on his stomach, causing him to give a _huff._

_**To be continued**_

_**Author's Note: I'm SO SO SO SO SO SO sorry! I just recued a cat off the streets, she's about to have kittens, and I have a huge math test! I will update tomorrow, I swear on my measly, unworthy life! I will REALLY try to have another chapter up tomorrow MORNING, and the second up tomorrow EVENING! Again, I am so so sorry, I promise the next ones will be worth it!**_


	9. Chapter 9 Chapter 8 part Two

"That would be a miracle." She muttered, not moving off him, but merely sitting down right on his stomach, causing him to give a _huff._

_**Chapter Nine (Eight part Two): Miyako's Pov**_

"Mimi, please get off of me?" Shigure pleaded.

I sighed, and then leapt off of his stomach, landing right in a chair.

Ayame applauded "Beautiful leap, you have gotten better!"

I stuck my tongue out at him.

As if shopping with that drama king hadn't been enough, he was now home with me.

Aaya had dragged me all over the stores, one to another, making me buy new cargo pants and new tops. As if this wasn't bad enough, he also took me to get, well, you know. That was probably the most life scarring moment that I have ever suffered through, and trust me, I've been through a lot.

But I had to admit, even though I hardly remembered him, I missed him. I missed all of them, Ayame, Shigure, and Hatori. Especially Hatori, he was always the responsible big brother, Shigure was the goofy big brother, and Ayame was the dramatic big brother. But all three of them made up my family, my only family that I had at the Sohma house, and I loved them for it. They were my big brothers, all of them.

"Well? Won't you model your new clothes?" Ayame questioned.

I sighed, I didn't want to.

"Do I have to?" I groaned.

Ayame looked hurt "You don't have to."

I rolled my eyes, every time, every time he always got me.

"Fine, fine, only so you stop bothering me." I growled.

Ayame smiled widely.

I then retreated to my makeshift room with my bags, and began to undress.

I would never tell the snake this, but when he bothered me really just made me appreciate him more. I had gone so long without anyone to annoy me, it was really actually refreshing.

I pulled on my army green Capri pants, so much like Kyo's, who knew we would have the same taste in style. I then pulled on a dark blue low cut shirt with a white camisole underneath, and I was set. We hadn't even bothered to by shoes, I never wore them, and they simply annoyed me.

I turned and looked at myself in the mirror. I had to admit, Ayame did have some sense of style. But that was, again, something I would never tell him.

When I exited, I was immediately bombarded with compliments, and Ayame proudly bragged about his handwork, causing me to smack him on the back of his head.

"Hello?" I heard a familiar voice call from the front entrance.

My ears perked up, and as the familiar man rounded the corner, I sprang for him, landing cleanly on top of him, causing him to fall to the floor.

"Miyako, I heard you were here." Hatori smiled slightly. But that was something; he had never really smiled when we were younger either.

"Hatori!" I cried happily, hugging him, and then jumping off of him, pulling the doctor with me.

I automatically noticed something wrong with his left eye, but I didn't ask. In the Sohma house, things happened, and I would know best about that.

"Ayame, I think you've bothered them enough." Hatori said, saving us.

"Thank you!" Kyo and Yuki cried simultaneously.

Ayame looked sad "I just got here!"

But still he moved towards the doctor.

"We can come back later. I'm sure both Miyako and Shigure are very tired. And Miyako starts school tomorrow, don't forget." Shigure nodded at Hatori's explination.

Ayame paused for only a moment, but then happily followed Hatori.

"See you soon! And have a good time at school tomorrow Mimi, I'll look forward to a full report!" Ayame sung and soon he was out of the house.

We sat in silence.

"I'm going to bed." Kyo and Yuki announced, their expressions still very irritated.

Shigure nodded.

"You better get to sleep too." Shigure said to me.

School was tomorrow; I couldn't help but feel nervous.

I nodded.

"'Night Kyo, night Yuki, night Shigure!" I called and soon I was tucked underneath my covers.

As I lay there, I could hear Kyo get into a fight with Yuki on the stairs, soon followed by a loud crash, and a poor dog whimpering, trying to save his house.

I laughed.

Finally, I had a family.

And with that, I fell asleep.

_**Author's Note: **_I hope you enjoyed! Leave a review! Thanks!


	10. Chapter 10

_And with that, I feel asleep._

_**Chapter Ten- Kyo's Pov**_

__"Wakey wakey! Time for school!" Shigure's annoying voice broke into my dream, I reached out at wacked him.

"Ow, Kyokyo, why so mean this morning?" Shigure whined.

"It's morning." I answered, and rolled away from the dog.

There was silence, then "If you don't get up I'll just send Yuki in to wake you!"

I heard Shigure get up and head for the door, but before he could, I was up and blocking the doorway.

"Don't you dare." I growled, and then walked downstairs, a victorious dog smiling behind me.

Miyako was practically falling over in her breakfast, and Yuki was no better off. So now we had only two morning haters.

I grabbed my carton of milk, and then I watched as Shigure quietly sneaked up behind his sister, and got ready to yell in her ear.

But before he could make a sound, Miyako had him pinned to the wall by his throat.

"Don't. Even. Think! About it." She growled, and then sat back down, covering her eyes with her elbows.

I laughed, and Yuki's head whipped up.

"Stop laughing baka neko, it's annoying me." He sighed, and dropped his head back down.

Shigure whimpered in the corner.

"Alright, we have to get going." I told the two Sohma's that were still asleep on the table.

No response.

"Now!" I yelled louder.

Still, nothing.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, Ayame's coming over in a few min" Suddenly Yuki and Miyako jumped to attention, and Miyako raced to get her uniform on.

When she came down, I raised my eyebrow. She was wearing a boy's uniform.

"Something wrong Kyo?" She asked.

"You're wearing a boy's uniform." I pointed out.

She shook her head. "Only my top, the bottoms are a loose interpretation of the girl's uniform." She informed me, pointing out her black skirt. But she still was wearing a tie and a black shirt.

"Never mind, let's go." I groaned, and headed out the door.

"Bye Shigure!" Miyako sang, hugging her brother, and darted out the door after us, leaping over the steps and most of the deck in the process.

And we all walked through the forest.

"This is going to be great! It's been so long since I've been with anyone my own age!" She said, excitedly hugging me.

"Get off!" I yelled, pushing her away.

She just skipped in front, laughing all the way to school.


	11. Chapter 11

_ She just skipped in front, laughing all the way to school._

_**Chapter Eleven- Miyako's Pov**_

__"Hello, my name is Miyako Sohma." I introduced myself, upon the teacher's prodding, who seemed to disapprove of my fashion choice, but couldn't do anything.

I almost laughed when the other students saw my outfit. I had always been attached to black, my favorite color. That and I also liked orange. That reminds me, I wish I could hear their shocked whispers about my hair. Oh, I was going to be disliked by school authority.

I heard whispers go around then a particularly bold girl spoke.

"Are you related to the prince?" She demanded.

"Who?" I asked.

The teacher then responded "Ah, Ms. Miyamo is referring to Yuki Sohma in class 12D."

So he was called the prince, interesting, but not unexpected.

"Yes, I'm his cousin." I answered simply.

"He sure has a lot of cousins." A boy commented.

I smiled; I guess every Sohma had used that excuse.

"Are you Kyo Sohma's sister?" A sneering boy asked, frowning at my hair.

"No." I answered, and sat down in my assigned seat.

After listening to the endless droning of my teacher, the bell rang, and I began to get up.

But I was stopped by that sneering boy.

"Listen, the uniform is a step too far, and the hair color is over the top. As president, I demand that you make some changes to your wardrobe and your tastes."

I raised an eyebrow. "I suppose you're right…." I began.

"I have been looking forward to some piercings." And then I pushed him aside, and walked out of the room, running into Kyo, who had been assigned to walk me around.

"Please tell me its lunch." I begged.

He nodded.

"Thank goodness!" I cried, throwing a casual arm around his shoulders, just to see how much I could piss him off in this short amount of time.

Not only did I get a "Get off!" from Kyo, but I got several glares from orange-top's admirers, causing me to giggle.

"Hello Miyako, did you enjoy your class?" Yuki asked politely.

"No." I sighed.

Kyo gave me a knowing look, as if he had suffered through the same thing at first.

"At least guys aren't into the hugging thing. If you were a boy, now then you would have something to worry about. The girls here, all they want to do is squeeze you." Kyo pointed out, irritated obviously.

I giggled. I could just see Kyo, all ruffled up, trying to fight off a swarm of fan girls. I would love to see that someday.

"Fan girls, nice." I laughed.

Yuki and Kyo rolled their eyes.

"I have an entire club devoted to me." Yuki sighed.

"Oh and that just makes you so much better doesn't it?" Kyo growled, and both sank into another fight.

I watched them, fighting took up so much of their time, but I think it was just their strange and unknowing way of being friends. Without the other, each of them would be bored out of their minds, nothing to punch, no one to get mad at, and no one to use to blow off steam. I think they are much better with each other than without.

That, and without both of them fighting, I wouldn't get to hear Shigure complain about damage to his precious house. Dog will be dogs, so protective.

Shigure, he was and always will be my protector. I remember him as nothing else. I know so many people say that he can never get close to anyone, but he can. He just has his own way of getting close to people. He loves to stay active, to always have change. It's what he has always loved, but as with all dogs, with Shigure, loyalty, friends, and family, always come first. I have never met anyone as sweet, sincere, or truthful as my brother.

I had always looked up to my brother, and I had always wanted to be like him, so carefree and calm. But that was not what I was destined to be. I was always going to be, different, and outcast.

Shigure belonged, he was the dog, I didn't. I couldn't even belong to a family of rejects, I was rejected by the rejects. But not by my brother, not by Aaya or Hatori. No, they always accepted me. And now, I hoped that Kyo and Yuki would finally accept me.

As I looked over at the bickering cat and rat, I got a feeling that I would be, I would be accepted.

And I also looked at the sneering "president". Oh, yes, it was time to get some piercings.

I laughed at what Shigure would think, me coming home with a nose piercing, or maybe a lip ring. But there were so many things he didn't know, and half of them I never intended on telling him, or anyone.

So maybe peircings were out of the question, but that doesn't mean I was ever going to wear that stupid sailor-like uniform. White and blue were not my colors. Black, dark blue and army green, those were my colors.

Then the bell rang, and Kyo, accompanied this time by Yuki as well, walked me to my next class, and I watched the two argue all the way down to 12D.

I then proceeded to introduce myself, and plunk my things down, listening to the endless and meaningless chatter that the teacher was going on about. The monks had given me all the education I needed.

This was going to be an interesting year.


	12. Chapter 12

_This was going to be an interesting year._

_**Chapter Twelve- Miyako's Pov**_

_The girl was back in that room, the cold stone cut into her soft shoulders, blood staining the already red-stained grey walls. She whimpered as she felt the after sting of the leather whip that Ren used so much._

_The little red-headed girl could still hear the words that her abuser had whispered into the little girl's ears. "You're usless, you're nothing. You have no right to be here, you don't matter. Nobody will ever love or care about you, nobody will ever think of you as more than just trouble, trouble and nothing. You are the very bane of everyone's existence, you make go out of their way, do you want them to go out of their way? Do you want them to go out of their way for nothing?"_

_It was always the same, those words repeated so many times, so many times. As someone once said "the amount of something determines if it is a poisin or a cure" in this case it was "the amount of something determines wither it is the truth or a lie". Everything the little girl heard, every abusive word that was uttered from Ren's lips became the absolute truth, every abusive touch that Ren bestowed upon the little girl, became earned._

_The girl began to believe she was nothing, until she truly wished she was nothing. All she seemed to be was trouble; she was always going to be trouble. She was not even suppose to exist, so why did she? She wasn't supposed to be part of the circle of the zodiac, so why was she here?_

"_Even that stupid cat is better than you, even that baka neko belongs here more than you do. Imagine, that lazy, forgotten cat, matters more than you." The words, they were true._

_The girl knew that. The girl knew that she had been forgotten, that she was nothing to anyone, and that she never would be. So many times did the girl wish to escape the life she had been forced into, escape to a world that maybe, just maybe, she could belong in. Maybe she could escape into a world of nothingness, a nothingness that would match her nothingness, and then she would finally be accepted._

_The girl started to cry. But even her tears were meaningless, useless. They didn't matter. Nothing about her mattered, nothing that she ever was, ever could be, could ever matter. She was nothing but trouble, she always would be, and therefore, nothing about her could ever be loved._

_When the door creaked open, the teary girl expected to see that doctor, who usually saved her from her pain, only to let her be put back in pain by handing her over, once again to Ren._

_She expected to see her tormentor; maybe the woman had decided that she hadn't done her job well enough, that the little girl still needed more words pounded into her._

_But this person, who stood in the doorway, was no one the little child had ever seen before._

"_Are you alright?" They asked._

_The little girl cowered farther into the corner. Had they been sent to hurt her? Or perhaps to bring her to Ren once again?_

"_Hey, I'm not going to hurt you. Who are you?" The figure moved into the room, careful that the door remained unlocked._

_Why did this strange care? Why did this stranger even take the time out of their day to stop and talk to nothing?_

_The little girl remained silent. The only ones who came to see her were three people, the doctor, Ren, and Shigure. None of them were with this person._

_The visitor saw the blood that was slowly seeping from the red-head's back._

"_Are you hurt badly?" They asked, slowly approaching the girl huddled in the corner._

_The girl looked up at her guest, who looked back with darker eyes than her own._

"_I won't hurt you, I promise." They said, and reached for the girl._

_The girl leapt to her feet, and leapt high, over the figure, landing painfully on the other side of the room, wincing as her newly injured ankle hit the floor._

"_You could've hurt yourself! I just want to help you, I promise. You can trust me." They approached once again._

_The girl didn't have enough energy to fight, didn't have enough strength to jump to another corner, and with nothing to lose, she simply stayed still, waiting for the person to hurt her, to grab her by her arm and drag her to a waiting Ren._

_But that never happened. The stranger simply stroked the girl's shoulder with their fingers, hoping to comfort the shivering girl._

"_I'll be right back; I'm just going to get some bandages." The stranger then ran from the room._

_The girl searched madly for a way out, full-blown panic now crossing her mind. They were going to get Ren, tell her that the girl had been crying, showing weakness, that the girl had done something wrong._

_But the stranger simply returned with a roll of white bandages._

_After bandaging some of the little girl's back, and her injured ankle, they stood up, gently stroked the girl's hair, and left._

_The stranger would come back, every two days. The girl would look forward to them coming, the only hope that she ever felt, the only thing that gave her nothingness meaning was the visitor._

_The little girl never said a word; the stranger would do all the talking. They would talk about their day, and give such gentle touches, until one day, the girl finally begin to trust the strange person._

_And on a day, about a little less than a year after the stranger had first entered the room, the girl spoke._

"_Thank you." She said, to the retreating form._

_The person turned, a smile stretched across their face._

"_You're welcome." They grinned even wider when they saw the little girl return the smile, and then turned and left._

_That was the last time the little girl ever saw the stranger again._

"_What, did you think I wouldn't find out about you're little visitor? I invited them; I thought you may just want to know how other people saw you. Your little visitor hated you, and then, it got to a point when they just couldn't stand you anymore. They realized, you are really nothing, and will always be nothing, that you will always be trouble and worthless for the rest of your life." Ren sneered, whipping the little girl harder, as silent tears wailed from within the girl. She had lost her only friend, forever._

I woke up in a sweat. Those memories, those early memories, were burned into my head, as if taunting me that if she ever found me once again, I would lose all my friends once again, I would be abandoned, and all the people I have come to like, Yuki and Kyo, would be gone forever. They would realize that I am nothing but a waste of time, nothing but a trouble-making outcast.

I lay back in my pillow. It had been two weeks since I came here, two weeks since the girl Tohru left with her friends.

Tomorrow night, I would meet the famous Tohru Honda.

_**Author's Note: **_That cat that I recued off the streets is now named Akito Sohma. She's really beautiful! I can't wait until she has her kittens! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter; a new one should come out either later today or tomorrow! THANKS!


	13. Chapter 13

_Tomorrow night, I would meet the famous Tohru Honda._

_**Chapter Thirteen- Kyo's Pov**_

__ "High school girls, high school girl, coming here tonight are high school gi" Shigure began to sing before he was swiftly smacked on the back of his head by his little sister.

"Perv." She sighed, and then continued making some sticky rice for the 'welcome home' dinner we were preparing.

I was helping Yuki with preparing some miso soup, the only proper way to prepare miso, and Shigure was, I can't say helping, but he was in the kitchen.

Tohru was coming home today, in less than an hour. We had gotten a call saying that she was bringing Arisa and Hana over for the night. I guess they hadn't had enough of each other.

I could actually tell that Miyako was nervous. She was fidgeting with her hair, and even tapping her foot when she was sitting, waiting for the rice to finish cooking.

"You okay Mimi?" The dog asked, noticing too.

She nodded.

"Don't worry; I'm sure you and Ms. Honda will be friends." Yuki smiled, assuring her.

Shigure tried to sneak some rice out of the bowl, but Miyako smacked his hand away.

"Don't you dare!" She growled and went back to making rice balls, while Shigure whimpered and retreated into his study.

I got up and helped her, rice balls being more of my specialty than miso soup.

"What are her friends like?" Miyako asked when we were done, just sprinkling the flakes of nori seaweed on top of the rice to give it some color and contrast, as well as some added flavor.

I thought for a second.

"A psychic and a Yankee."

"Fun." Miyako smiled, and arranged the food on a plate.

Silence came over all of us, and, with nothing else to do, I retreated to the roof.

And then I just sat there, looking up at the stars that scattered the black of the night sky, thinking.

My life had changed so much, so much in just a few years. I trained with my master, and then returned here, to a place I never thought I'd learn to love. In fact, when I first came, I wanted nothing more than to run away once again, and leave the rat and dog behind in the dust. But then, Tohru came. Tohru Honda, the most amazing girl I had ever met. Even though she did act ditzy most of the time, she was smart. Smart and kind, and polite. She cared about everyone and everything, except herself.

She even cared about me, she cared even when I turned into my true form, the monster that I really was. She still cared, she still was kind. She didn't pretend it didn't frighten her, and that was all I could ask, for anything else would've seemed fake.

I was a monster, and Tohru still cared.

Then Miyako came along. She couldn't be more amazing, even for a Sohma. She was happy, and was the responsible one, taking care of her brother. But I couldn't help wonder, how much Miyako was like me. I knew that she had been rejected completely from the Sohma family, that she had been erased, forgotten, turned to dust. But why? What about her was so awful that Ren couldn't bear to share her with anyone? Was Miyako a monster like me as well? There was another cursed person in the world, so why couldn't there be another monster in the world. Or perhaps it was simpler than that. Perhaps, something about Miyako endangered Ren. Perhaps, something about Miyako could be dangerous to the Sohma curse. Perhaps, Miyako could help us.

My mind was just beginning to explore the numerous possibilities when I heard a voice, a voice I had missed so much, call from down on the ground.

"I'm back!" Tohru called.

And like a cat, I leapt right from the roof, landing in front of a smiling Tohru, a tired looking Arisa, and a black-clad Hana.

Yuki darted out of the house, and Shigure emerged from his hiding place in his study to greet the three.

And then, as Tohru was entering, she stopped suddenly.

Miyako stood in the living room door frame, staring at the newcomers. Her red, orange, and white hair hung around her shoulders, standing out from the black tank top and army green cargo pants she was wearing.

Tohru automatically bowed her head.

"Hello!" She stuttered.

Miyako remained silent, watching the brown haired girl in front of her, before she turned and retreated back inside the living room.


	14. Chapter 14

_Miyako remained silent, watching the brown haired girl in front of her, before she turned and retreated back inside the living room._

_**Chapter Fourteen- Kyo's Pov**_

Tohru was left stuttering in the hallway.

"Welcome back! And you've brought your friends! High school girls, high school girls." Shigure skipped towards us, smiling widely.

But there was no Miyako to slap him for being a pervert. Although she didn't have to, Uo took care of that, and sent Shigure whimpering into the living room to join his sister.

Speaking of which, I wondered what happened to her. One minute she was happy, excited, and nervous, and then the next, she was glaring and silent.

"Who was, who was that? Did I frighten her? Did I do something?" Tohru gushed.

"No, no, it's just her. I'll let the dog explain it." I sighed, and walked the three girls into the dining room, followed closely by Yuki.

"Should I start dinner? You all must have starved while I was away, oh I should have left some food prepared for you" Tohru began, but Yuki cut her off.

"We were fine, and don't worry about dinner, we already prepared it.

I could see a flash of worry as Tohru imagined the kitchen burned to a crisp, but as soon as she saw the food, a flash of relief and happiness crossed her face.

"Wow! This is amazing!" She gasped, and Uo and Hana nodded in agreement, and we all sat down.

"Who cooked it?" Hana asked.

Yuki and I remained silent.

Suddenly, a blur of orange black and green, a figure darted past us and slipped through the paper door.

Shigure came running out of the living room in pursuit but it was much too late, Miyako was already gone.

"What was that all about?" Uotani asked, looking at the other two girls.

Then, it all made since, why Miyako was so nervous, why there was a sudden change in her behavior. Tohru, Arisa, and Hana were all girls, women. Before they arrived, Miyako had been with us, three men. Before Miyako had come to us, she was with male monks, and before that, she had known only Ren, the doctor, Hatori, Ayame, and Shigure. All of which were male except for one, Ren. Ren, who tortured and most likely hurt Miyako in more than just a physical way, was a woman. Ren is the only woman that Miyako can ever remember seeing in her lifetime.

Shigure stopped and sat down, realizing it was hopeless.

"Nothing really, Miyako just gets a little nervous with company." He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

I got up.

"I'll go find her." I offered.

Tohru smiled at my unexpected concern.

"Ah, that would be wonderful. Yuki, why don't you go with him, then I'll have high school girls all to myself, high school girls, high sch" Shigure was cut off by Yuki.

"I'll stay." He glared at the dog.

I nodded, and then exited out the paper door, and into the woods, trying to find any signs of the girl.

But there were none, it was like she had just disappeared.


	15. Chapter 15

_But there were none, it was like she had just disappeared._

_**Chapter Fifteen- Miyako's Pov**_

Trees past me in blurs as I leapt over protruding roots, loose dirt, and high placed rocks. I don't even know why I was running; there was no point to it. There was nothing to get away from, nothing to hide from, and nothing to escape from.

_Nothing, nothing, nothing. _The words echoed in my head, until they mutated and transformed.

_You're nothing, nothing, nothing. _Ren's voice sounded inside my head.

I shook my head, momentarily blinding me as my hair fell into my face. That was just long enough for me to trip.

I felt myself fall, and I felt myself land painfully on a rock. I stayed there, laying on the ground, just staying there. Waiting, for anything.

_Nothing, nothing, nothing._

Why was I running? Why was this happening to me? What was there to even be afraid of? This was pathetic, I was pathetic. I was a pathetic nothing, afraid of her own shadow.

I sat up, leaning against a large tree. The bark cut into my back, but I couldn't feel it, I couldn't feel the cold either, nor see the darkness.

All my life I had been stuck with men, all but one. The only family I ever knew, a brother. The only friends I ever knew teenage boys. The only teachers I ever knew, hairless men. The only monster I ever knew, a woman.

I kicked myself. I should be stronger than this. I shouldn't fall down; I shouldn't let myself be weak.

_You're a weakling, you're a troublemaker, you're nothing to anyone. You could vanish and nobody would care. You could cry all the tears you like, nobody would see them._

That was all I was. I couldn't be any more than what I already was. I had no job, no duty to the zodiacs, and no place amongst them. Each of them had a place, I didn't. Even the cat, he had the duty of being shunned, but being strong. What do I do? What is my purpose?

_You have no purpose, you don't matter. You can't change anything, you can't do anything. I will always hide you, just so you don't bother anyone else with your trouble._

Everyone else was sitting around the table, eating their fill of delicious food, probably laughing at jokes, or perhaps laughing at Kyo, who may seem mad, but really would be enjoying it as much as everyone else.

Just like the banquets.

_You should've been there, oh wait, no you shouldn't have. But it was magnificent, the food, the light, the dancing, the people. Everyone had their own place at the table, except for that mangy cat. He had a place outside the door. It was perfect, everyone was there. At least, everyone that mattered._

I felt tears running down my cheeks at the thought, not just the thought, the knowing, the knowledge, that I would never, ever, fit in at any table.

I would never fit in anywhere. I should be back at the temple, not here, not now, not bothering my brother, the only one who had really loved me through the years, not bothering Yuki and Kyo.

_You have no right to be here, no right to exist. You have no right to be loved, no right to be cared about. You have no right to bother people with your presence._

How could I possibly believe otherwise? Coming here only proved it. Besides, Tohru was here now. There was no need for me anymore. There was another girl to look after my brother, another girl to watch Kyo and Yuki fight, another girl to prepare the meals.

_You will never be needed._

It was true; Ren had only spoken the truth. Ren never lied, about anything. Everything she did was because I earned it, because I was trouble, because I was disobeying everything by merely existing.

"Miyako?" A voice called.

I burrowed futher into the trunk of the tree, trying to make myself disappear. But it was as solid as the stained stone walls that I had tried so many times to sink into.

A mop of firey orange hair emerged from the brush to my right, and dark scarlet eyes met mine.

"What's wrong?" Kyo asked, kneeling down.

"Nothing, I just couldn't take it back there, too many people." I tried to smile.

Kyo raised an eyebrow, obviously not buying my assurance.

"You can tell me you know." He spoke gently.

I looked away, towards the trees that rested in front of me.

"I don't know. Pathetic isn't it?" I sunk my head into the crook of my arm.

Kyo stayed silent for a moment.

"It's not pathetic. You know, Yuki had a hard time too. Yuki wouldn't speak to anyone; he just stayed silent, for a while too. But eventually he spoke, he overcame his fear."

"Yeah, and he's a year younger than me." I growled at my own weakness.

Kyo gently placed an arm around me.

"But he's also been out a lot longer than you have. You only just got used to us, and now you have to get used to three others." I leaned into Kyo.

"Three other people, that won't be easy." I sighed.

"I know you can do it. Besides, Tohru is the easiest person in the world to get along with. I can just see her back at the house, worried sick that she did something to make you upset. Tohru's like that. She's not anything like Ren." Kyo explained, leaning back against the tree.

I stayed silent.

"I didn't mean to make Tohru worry; I didn't mean to cause any trouble for Tohru." I finally said.

"Then come back. Tohru and her friends are really the perfect people to meet. They won't hurt you, I promise." He smiled.

_I won't hurt you, I promise._ The stranger's promise whispered in my mind.

Slowly, I got up, Kyo helping me pull myself of the ground.

"Come on, let's go home." He said, and then we walked back over the forest dirt, making our way to the lit house.

Kyo's arm was casually slung across my shoulder, making jokes with me all the way back, even taking a few insults I shot his way, and I knew right then, that I had not only found another friend, but I had also found another brother.


	16. Chapter 16

_Kyo's arm was casually slung across my shoulder, making jokes with me all the way back, even taking a few insults I shot his way, and I knew right then, that I had not only found another friend, but I had also found another brother._

_**Chapter Sixteen- Kyo's Pov**_

I slid the paper door open and went inside, Miyako following me.

Tohru immediately jumped up, but Shigure pulled her back down.

"Hi Tohru Honda, I'm Miyako Sohma, Shigure's little sister." Miyako smiled, bowing politly.

What a change. Shigure wasn't kidding about her mood swings. I was glad that I found her; the dinner table looked so empty with that chair next to Shigure with no one seated on it.

I guess we really were a family now.

"It's really nice to meet you! I had no idea that Shigure-san had a sister!" Tohru bowed in return, speaking excitedly. Tohru will be Tohru.

"Yes, neither did Kyo or Yuki. But anyways, I'm sorry to worry you; I've had a very stressful day. It just got a little too much for me." She laughed sheepishly.

Wow, she was good.

"Oh, that's fine! I hope you're alright!" Tohru grinned.

"Of course!" Miyako grinned back.

Uotani and Hana watched the two girls with wide eyes. They were probably thinking that Tohru had finally met her match, but that wasn't true. As soon as Arisa and Hana left, Miyako would probably go back to whom she was before, or maybe she would just run off again. That wouldn't be good.

"So who are your friends?" Miyako asked, sitting down at the table, soon followed by a still blushing Tohru.

"Oh, sorry! This is Saki Hanajima and Arisa Uotani."

"The Yankee and the psychic." I clarified.

"Really? That's interesting. What powers do you have?" Miyako asked Hanajima.

"Electric waves, I can sense and deal them out." She answered gloomily.

MIyako nodded. "I've heard of that. Everything gives of electric waves, each living and dead thing, but the dead are much harder to reach because their waves are so much weaker, blurred out by the living."

Hanajima nodded. "Yes, that has been a problem for me."

"I can show you how to do that." Miyako offered.

"That would be very nice, thank you." Hana bowed politely, cracking a small smile.

We all turned to stare at Shigure's little sister.

"How in the world did you know that?" I asked.

Miyako shrugged. "You can't stick around monks and not have some knowledge leak into your mind. There was this one guy who was studying the waves, went on about nothing else. Very irritating, but very interesting."

Shigure nodded with an unsurprised look.

Soon, dinner came and went, and Arisa, Saki, and Tohru all went upstairs to sleep.

"That went well." Shigure commented.

We nodded. I looked towards Miyako. She seemed surprisingly calm.

"You alright?" I asked, slightly nervous.

"Surprisingly, yes. That wasn't as bad as I thought; Tohru and her friends are very nice." Miyako answered.

"Told you." I muttered happily, and went upstairs, walking a little faster when I heard Yuki call up to me, trying to get me back to do the dishes.

I heard Miyako laugh at me and Yuki, and hearing her laughter, I had to laugh as well.

Then I heard Shigure make a comment that ended in "high school girls" and then I heard a slap and then a whimpering dog dart past me.

I walked past Tohru's room, and heard laughter coming out of her and her friend's mouths.

Finally, everything was right.

**Author's Note: **Akito Sohma (the cat) just gave birth this morning at around 6:30am! We now have eight kittens, every single one black except for two, which are named Ayame and Yuki. The black ones are named Kyo, Shigure, Kagura, Arisa, Hatori, and Kisa. Please review!


	17. Chapter 17

_Finally, everything was right._

_**Chapter Seventeen- Shigure's Pov**_

It had been five days since Tohru had returned, and Miyako was gone, well, not all of the time, but most of the time. I didn't know where she went; she would just disappear in the middle of the day, and reappear the morning later, a thin layer of dirt always coating her clothes.

She never spoke to Tohru, never interacted with Tohru. She only spoke to Kyo, not Yuki, not even me, just the cat, which made since I suppose, he was the one person that Miyako could identify with.

I was truly worried about her. I thought that maybe, she had been so scarred by Ren, that she would never be able to come out and really interact with any girls. But unbeknownst to me, it was the opposite. I only learned that one night when she snuck in, returning from a day of absence.

It was around one in the morning, I being up because I had slept most of the day, choosing to do the majority of my writing during the night because creativity seemed to flow quicker then. And how can I write without some thought-inducing treats?

And then Miyako wandered in, her red hair sticking out in strange ways, as if she had been sleeping on the ground, and her clothes dirtied.

"Shishi." She nodded, acknowledging my presence.

She then started for the bathroom, hopefully to take a shower, but I stopped her.

"Mimi, we need to talk." I sighed.

She raised an eyebrow, suspicious. Not that I blamed her, I wasn't really the best one to talk to, or rather, to give advice. I could listen; I just wasn't that, I wasn't that responsible older figure or that _knows what to do _older brother.

Miyako had always been the responsible one, the listening one, the one with the advice, even when she was only a toddler.

"About what?" She said, attempting to avoid the conversation.

"You know what." I smiled, hoping to reassure, and then we walked together into the living room.

"Is something wrong? Do you not like Tohru?" I began.

"No." She responded.

"Is something wrong with Kyo? Or Yuki? Or me?" I asked.

"No."

"Something wrong with yourself? Is something bothering you?"

She sighed. "Not really."

I raised my eyebrows, leaning forward as gesture that I would listen. But she stayed silent.

"Please Miyako. If you don't want to stay here, I can see if anyone else can take you, or I'm sure the monks" I started, but she cut me off.

"No, please, no more hairless guys. They were almost worse than Sohma house." She shuddered.

"Then what do you want me to do? I can't bear seeing you like this. I don't even know where you do during the day, and during the night!"

She shrugged. "Where do you think I go Shigure?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking." I responded.

But my little sister just sat there, looking down.

I tried to think about what could be wrong. The spirit she held did make it hard for her to sleep at night, the animal inside constantly wanting to roam the forest, sneak over roots, dart between bushes, and be cloaked in the dark shadows of the night. Miyako also enjoyed patrolling her land that was probably why she was out so late and so early, and so long. She had always been so territorial.

Territorial, of course, that was it. Tohru, a stranger who the spirit didn't and hasn't acknowledged as being one of the members of this house, had just come with her two friends, making Miyako share the food she had personally bought and made, with three complete strangers.

Her spirit was probably having an emotional and instinctual breakdown. No wonder she was having so much trouble.

"It's your spirit isn't it?" I asked.

She nodded.

"It's so restless, all the time. That night that Tohru came home, my animal couldn't handle it. Three new women, in its new formed territory, it couldn't take it, so it took it out on me. Just listen to me; I keep pretending that we're two separate things. I couldn't take it, the stress, the need to protect everyone, everything, was just too much. I was outnumbered, Kyo and Yuki would obviously take the girl's side, and we didn't know what to do. It was a miracle I made it through the night, I constantly had to hold the animal back, hold it from lashing out, from hurting anyone. I kept trying to assure it that everything was alright, nothing was going to hurt it, that there was no threat, that they were nice, but it couldn't see sense. After two hours in my room, I couldn't hold it in any longer, and it forced itself into control. I've been sleeping outside, and then patrolling the land, making sure nobody else gets in. And whenever my instincts fade, I come back, eat, shower, maybe even sleep. But when I'm done, that spirit always gets the best of me, it always has." She finished, her brown eyes looking at the wall, studying something that wasn't there.

"I'm sorry, I had no idea. I should've just asked Tohru to invite them over later, when you had first become more comfortable with Ms. Honda. I should've noticed. I should've helped you. I should've been there for you, but I wasn't. I've never been there for you like a brother, an older brother, always should." My eyes fell to the floor.

I felt her arms wrap around my waist.

"Don't beat yourself up, that's my job." She joked, causing me to smile.

She could always make me smile.

"I really am you know, sorry." I said, pulling her closer.

"There's nothing that you ever could've done, it was out of your hands, out of my hands. But the important thing is you're here now, all of you are here now. I have you now, I have Yuki, and I have Kyo. I have Ayame and Hatori. And that's all I need. Now I just have to get used to the extras. I'm sure there's more Sohma's to meet, and there's always Tohru and her friends. Just give me time, I'll be fine." Miyako smiled up at me from my lap, where she had so often sat when she was younger.

I smiled back.

"But that doesn't mean I want to go anywhere near the Sohma house for a while. I'm not that fine yet, and if I have a choice, I won't ever be fine enough to go there." She shivered at the thought.

"Don't worry, if you don't want to, you won't have to." I promised her.

"Good. Now, I'm going to take a shower, and sleep in a bed. Ah, nice sheets, blankets, I can already feel it. And you should too, what are you doing up anyways?" She sighed, getting up.

"Writing, I'm a novelist." I answered, remembering we had a lot to catch up on.

"Really? Wow, my brother, famous. What a funny thought." She joked.

I laughed, famous, not even close. But still, I loved my writing.

"Yes, you'll have to meet my editor, you'll love her." I snickered, remembering the past tortures I had set up for her.

Miyako giggled. "I know that snicker of yours, what have you done to the poor woman?"

"Nothing, much." I muttered the last word under my breath, but she still heard.

"Oh, poor tortured soul." She laughed, and then retreated to the shower.

I sat there, happy, really happy. Miyako was alright now, and that made me alright. I sat there, for a while, just appreciating my sister. I really loved her, so much. She was the one person, the one woman, that I let catch me.

I went to the kitchen and fetched my treats, grabbing an extra box of the sweets, just for extra inspiration.

I tried to sneak past the bathroom, but too late. Miyako emerged, dressed in baggy grey pants and a white tank top shirt, and preformed one of her graceful pounces, landing on my back, causing me to fall to the floor.

"You don't need two of those Shishi, you already have quite the belly." She said, grabbing one of the boxes.

"No! I need those for my ideas!" I whimpered, putting on the sweetest puppy dog face I could, and as the year of the dog, I dare say I could do a good one.

"I'm your sister dummy, immune." She laughed, and bit into one of the gummy cakes, sprinkled lightly with powdered sugar.

"Mm, so good!" She smiled, and then retreated to the study, and I followed her.

Sitting down I asked "Mind if I work?"

She shook her head, lying down. "I could sleep through anything right now." She giggled, and she wasn't kidding, the second her head hit the pillow, she was asleep.

With that small box of yummy sweet goodness, right next to her sleeping form, the box opened just slightly, only one missing, I couldn't resist. As silently as I could, I snuck towards the container that was filled with the second portion of red bean cakes, but just as I was about to snatch it away, a pale hand slapped mine away.

"I said I _could_ sleep through anything. Being able to is different than actually doing so." She snickered at my surprised face.

"One box is enough." Miyako said.

"Yes mother." I joked.

That earned me another smack, and I retreated to my desk with my tail between my legs.

"Love you Shishi." She whispered.

"Love you to Mimi." I smiled, and then began to write.


	18. Chapter 18

_"Love you to Mimi." I smiled, and then began to write._

_**Chapter Eighteen- Miyako Pov**_

__I heard the gentle scratch of Shigure's pen as he wrote, occasionally stopping to stick a sweet into his mouth.

I smiled to myself, my back facing my older brother, my legs curled tight against my chest, my head leaning into them. I loved the darkness, the dark, the night. It was the place I felt safe. It was the place that I could just get away from everything, were I _could _become nothing. At least until I fell asleep.

And soon enough, I fell into the land of my dreams.

_"May I assist you in carrying your bags?" A monk dressed in a red and yellow robe asked, walking towards the place where the doctor's car had recently dropped me off._

_ I shook my head, not speaking, and flung my small backpack full of all my belongings over my shoulder. It was painfully light._

_ The monk nodded, and then led me towards the huge and beautiful temple, holding the heavy tall wooden gate open so I could slip into my new prison, securely locking it behind me._

_ I looked around at the silent surroundings, the low rocks that decorated sandy Zen gardens, and the moss that crept up between the flat stones that created the thin path. I saw flashes of red throughout my walk, meditating monks and silent men littered the peaceful gardens. I was sure I would see many, many more._

_ Everything was silent, calm, and serene. There was nothing that could entertain me here, just hairless monks who rarely speak, at least that was until I met the younger monks. Those monks practiced martial arts, fencing, and there were even a few who played soccer. They saved me from the boredom that was threatening to overcome me._

_ I learned so much about martial arts, just in my first week, that I had already beaten quite a few of the younger of the fighters. I refrained from fighting with the sword, it had felt so awkward and large in my hands, and I had disliked it right from the start. _

_ Soccer was tons of fun; I was always picked first because of my running abilities. I never was goalie, thank goodness for that, and I was rarely defense._

_ All in all, my life was great amongst the monks. Sure there were those boring long days when the monks had other things to do with their time, but there were also those times that they would teach me everything they knew, even some different languages. By the time I left, I knew five fluently; English, French, Chinese, and Arabic. I could speak a little of Spanish, and some German, but not a lot. I was in the middle of learning some Greek, when I left to join Shigure and his friends._

_ Before, if you had asked me, I would've stayed here forever, never leaving._

_ But then, everything happened at once._

_ I was called into the head monk's quarters; I don't even know what he was called, or even what his name was._

_ "I want you to understand that the way you have been acting is not acceptable for a young lady such as yourself. The behavior that you have demonstrated, learning martial arts, playing soccer, learning languages, is not traditional and has been reported to Ren Sohma. She has advised us to put you under close watch, and teach you how to be a woman. You can no longer wear those clothes, nor play any sports, or practice martial arts anymore. You are prohibited from learning any more languages as well. Therefore, I shall personally teach you the ways of being a young woman, and you shall stay here, with us, until your training is completed." He ordered._

_ My eyes narrowed, and my animal spirit became nervous and pretty pissed off. "And how long would that be?"_

_ "About ten more years at least, if you learn fast, which Ren doubted. I will call Misha in to work with your clothes." He said, and walked outside before I could protest._

_ Misha was the one other woman that was living at the temple. I hated her. She was always so proper, wore long kimonos, and never spoke. She just let herself be bossed around, something that I, and my animal for that matter, would never be able to take._

_ So when she put me in a long light blue kimono, and made me dye my hair black, and put it up into a high bun, something inside me snapped._

_ That night, whilst all of them slept, I quietly packed my bags. I left a few notes around, only to the monks who taught me martial arts, played soccer with me, or taught me my foreign languages. But after that, I slipped into my pants and shirt, removing the kimono and shoes I had been forced to wear. I then undid my hair, and was about to leave, when I saw some scissors sitting on a ledge, just outside my room. It was for arranging flowers, cutting the delicate stems to create an art form. But to me, they held different possibilities._

_ I picked them up, watching as they glinted silver in the moonlight._

_ I then gathered my waist length black hair, and with a few well placed snips, I had cut my hair, rather cleanly to my pleasure, to just beneath my shoulder blades. I knew it would take longer for the dye to wash out, but I was willing to wait._

_ And then, leaving the pile of my long black hair, that symbolized everything the head monk and Misha had tried to teach me, I left, with the short hair that represented what all my monk friends had taught me, how to be myself._


	19. Chapter 19

_**Chapter Nineteen- Kyo's Pov**_

The days faded into months, until we found ourselves in the heart of December. Not much had changed. Miyako and I had still been close, Shigure had still been a perverted dog, Yuki still that damn irritating rat he is, and Tohru the amazing housekeeper that she always has been.

Tohru and Miyako stayed their distance from each other, just a neutral balance. Even though Tohru tried to make conversation, Miyako just never really got into the discussion, and I began to think it was a lost cause, until today.

"Can't you hurry up you damn rat? My fingers are freezing off!" I yelled as my teeth chattered the cold had never been one of my favorite things, and neither had snow, and both were occurring at the moment.

Even though the snow was just lightly sprinkling down, the snow piled up on the ground I had to wade through was more than enough to piss me off.

But it didn't annoy Miyako the slightest, in fact, she was enjoying it. The high leaps she preformed on a daily basis were helping her fly across the snow, and somehow, she was able to walk on the snow, not sinking in like all the rest of us did.

Shigure yelped in shock as a flying circular projectile of frozen water, also known as a snow ball, hit him on the back of his neck.

"Mimi!" He whimpered, and knelt down to gather a snow ball to retaliate with, only to be hit right on his rear end.

"Unfair! Hitting a man while he's down!" The dog cried and threw a snow ball of his own, which Miyako gracefully dodged.

She was dressed in all white, a long white parka, much like the coat that Hatsuharu wears, and white snow pants. And here's this for a shocker, she was still wearing no shoes.

"We're you're shoes?" I asked her, flinging a snow ball at Yuki, who dodged it easily, without even glancing behind him.

"I hate shoes. My feet are tough, the snow's no problem." She smiled, and then leapt across the snow, pouncing on something, then standing up, holding her prize.

It was a small white mouse.

"How'd you find that?" I exclaimed. Finding a white mouse in a field of white was like finding a straw colored needle in a haystack.

"Instinct." She replied, and then released the mouse once again.

I could just see the gears in Tohru's mind turning. She was still trying to figure out what animal the red headed girl was, we all were.

But there weren't really an abundance of human males visiting our home; in fact, there were none except the postman.

Miyako continued pouncing, leaping, and dancing over the snow, tossing snow balls at her whimpering brother, who was making sad attempts to retaliate against his sister. It was actually quite funny to see the dog fail so miserably.

We were so distracted, that none of us saw the approaching man. We were so busy throwing snow that none of us noticed the fact that Miyako was heading straight for the man, completely unaware of where she was going.

But we did notice when the made gave a polite greeting, startling Miyako so much, that she fell, right into his arms.

Before the man could see anything, I raced over to him and dragged him so that Miyako's body was behind him.

_Poof, _I was just in time.

"Hello sir, beautiful day isn't it!" Shigure smiled happily.

The man nodded. "It is, beautiful day."

And then he continued on his way, never glancing back, thankfully.

I turned my attention to the squirming pile of white clothes that rested on the snowy ground.

"Miyako, you alright?" I asked.

A movement revealed an erect ear, and soon, a little black nose, and the creature's face was revealed to me.

As soon as I saw Miyako in her true form, it all made since, everything about Miyako fit her animal so well.

**Author's Note: **And that's where I leave you. Put in any guesses about Miyako's animal in the review area, I love looking at reviews! They make me feel all warm and fuzzy! Thank you, thank you, thank you, so much for continuing to read my story. I promise, it will be totally worth your time! REVIEW!


	20. Chapter 20

_As soon as I saw Miyako in her true form, it all made since, everything about Miyako fit her animal so well._

_**Chapter Twenty- Kyo's Pov**_

The small creature, its coat violently standing out from the colorless landscape that surrounded it, stared back at me with happy, intelligent eyes that glowed a warm golden color, accented with a darker brown.

Its nose was black and wet, was poking out of the pile of clothes where the animal landed, one ear still hidden under the fabric, only the multicolored face visible.

Gently and gracefully, the animal snuck out from underneath the clothes, a delicate paw landing on the snow, not sinking, just like Miyako.

It was then I saw the entire body of Miyako's other form, and it was as equally beautiful as her. The fluffy dark red fur was mixed with a lighter orange, and the underbelly of the creature was white, ending where the tail began and starting just underneath the chin. For legs were planted firmly, yet delicately on the snow, leaving just the slightest of imprints in the snow. Her long bushy tail was resting on the white blanket.

She was a fox, literally.

"A, a fox? How is that possible?" Tohru stuttered, staring at the zodiac that she had, just this once, not been the cause of the transformation.

A fox, it made perfect sense. The fox was a clever, tricky type, but also happy and protective. This animal represents the two sides, good and evil, and is consistently something in between. It is the balanced feelings between the two, playing tricks and pranks from the evil side, but making sure that they were innocent enough, the good side. They were excellent thinkers, and were passionate about their family. Why Ren didn't want Miyako on her side is beyond me.

"Well, I'm the dog, so it only made since for us to have a fox as my little sister." Shigure explained lightly, of course he did, he knew the whole time.

Yuki and I were still speechless, not out of shock, but out of being stunned by the beauty of the delicate fox. Foxes held their own sense of beauty, of gracefulness.

"Hey, Kyo, snap out of it." I heard Miyako say.

I looked at the fox, of course, she can talk.

"So nice, I love being in this form. It's been a while!" Miyako sang, and then the fox picked up an agile run, and began pouncing once again.

Another thing that made sense, her graceful leaps and pounces, qualities only a fox possesses from the very moment they can walk.

Yuki looked at Shigure. "So what's the fox's story? I've never heard of the fox in any of the myths."

He looked to me, but I shrugged, I hadn't either.

"I don't actually know, but Miyako does. We'll have her tell us about it at home." Shigure said, leaning down and picking up his sister's clothes until she transformed.

"Come on Miyako, let's go!" He called, and an orange animal darted out of the trees, trotting very pleased by his side.

**Author's Note: **Stay tuned, next part hopefully up by tonight, if not, tomorrow morning! Promise! Next one explains the myth! Love you all for sticking to this amazing story! Leave comments about what you think of Miyako's animal, or anything else. REVIEW!


	21. Chapter 21

_"Come on Miyako, let's go!" He called, and an orange animal darted out of the trees, trotting very pleased by his side._

_**Chapter Twenty-one- Kyo's Pov**_

__The little fox pranced happily over the snow, often straying from Shigure's side, but always returning. She was able to stay in her animal form much longer than us; I would have to ask her about that later. But first, we all needed to hear the fox's myth.

Just as we got to the door, there was a _poof, _and the red creature that had been following us was now a naked Miyako. Yuki and I turned our backs, surprised because we had never really had to do that very often. When we looked back, Miyako was covered in only her white coat.

As soon as we got in, she quickly went to the study, and emerged just a minute later in a black and red kimono that she owned; I guess canines enjoyed the flow of the traditional dress.

"Ah, that was refreshing." She said, stretching.

Shigure smiled at his little sister.

"So, what's the story?" I asked, flinging my limbs across the sofa. The weather was really getting to me.

"It's a long one, you ready for it?" Miyako sighed.

We all nodded readily, especially Tohru, who looked like the curiosity could kill her any minute.

"Alright, here we go." She said, and began to tell her story.

**Author's Note: **The actual myth will be posted tomorrow! Sorry, too tired tonight! But it will be up! REVIEW!


	22. Chapter 22

_"Alright, here we go." She said, and began to tell her story._

_**Chapter Twenty-two- Miyako's Pov**_

__With everyone around me, I began to tell my story, the myth that answered the mystery to everything that surrounded me and my animal, the fox.

_As everyone filed into the banquet hall, sitting at the assigned seats, the fox was lounging around at the feet of god. She was tired from a hard day helping god with all the problems that he had come across, for the fox was god's helper, planner, and thinker._

_ They were very close, all the time, the fox never straying far from god's side. But this night, the night of the great banquet, she was too tired, and god excused her to her den to sleep._

_ On her way, as she was walking the corridors, she ran into god's mother. The god's mother had always liked the little fox, and treated her much like her own. And of course, the fox being polite, made an effort to greet the mother as politely as possible._

_ But when she opened her eyes enough, for before they had been weighed down heavily by sleep, to look god's mother in the eyes as a symbol of respect, the fox noticed a beautifully sparkling golden necklace. The fox's mind was consumed with greed, she wanted the necklace so much, and could think of nothing else for the rest of the night. Her dreams were only of the necklace, the way it glimmered and sparkled, and the way it so elegantly rested on the mother's neck._

_ So in the middle of the night, while everyone was still at the banquet, the fox snuck up to the mother's room where she was sleeping, for the mother was not invited to the banquet herself._

_ As silently and stealthily as the fox could manage, the fox snuck up to the mother's bed, and saw the necklace resting on the nightstand. She snatched it up, and then ran back to her den._

_ The next morning the mother was in a panic, wondering where her priceless necklace went, but the fox could feel no remorse, for she was still sleeping in her den._

_ But god knew it had been his trusted planner, for he knew that she had been the only one absent from the banquet. He went and confronted his assistant, and offered to forgive the fox for the crime, but she denied knowing anything about a stolen necklace._

_ So disappointed was god that his most trusted of animals would lie to him, he cursed the small canine, that she would forever exist along with the other zodiacs, and that until the god was able to forgive the fox for the horrible deed, she would be reborn again and again, going through the pain of every lifetime that she had._

"And that is the story of the fox." I finished with a heavy sigh.

Shigure looked shocked, they all did. Nobody had ever heard the story of the fox before.

"You really stole from god's mother?" Yuki questioned. I shrugged.

"I guess so."

"So that's why Ren hates you so much." Kyo muttered.

I nodded. "She's the mother, I stole from her. She knows it, and she will never let it go, not in a million years, literally. I earned everything that she did to me. I was nothing but trouble to her and god."


	23. Chapter 23

_I nodded. "She's the mother, I stole from her. She knows it, and she will never let it go, not in a million years, literally. I earned everything that she did to me. I was nothing but trouble to her and god."_

_**Chapter Twenty-three- Miyako's Pov**_

___"And that's the story of your miserable animal. Sad isn't it, how I trusted you, and yet you deceived me anyways. But that's why you're still here; to be punished for everything you did wrong." Ren smiled icily._

_ I shivered in my corner._

_ "Aw, don't worry my sweet little fox, maybe one day I'll forgive you, maybe even god will forgive you." Then she laughed._

_ "My jokes get funnier and funnier, don't you agree?" She smiled happily to herself while she grabbed the leather whip._

_ So preoccupied was my head with the story, I barely felt the lashes._

_ The fox had stolen from the mother of god, how could I do something so mean, so cruel? How could I betray motherly trust? How could I fail my master, god?_

_ As the lashes came down, they felt earned, more earned than ever before._

_ I just slept, slept on that precious necklace, and then lied, to my master, to god. How could I do that?_

_ Tears started to drip down my face._

_ How could I? I couldn't, I wouldn't do such a thing, would I?_

_ I didn't know myself well enough to determine that._

_ Soon, the lashes ceased, and Ren left._

_ A few minutes later, the door creaked open, and the stranger, my visitor, entered._

_ "Hey, you okay?" They asked._

_ I feebly nodded._

_ "What's wrong? You seem worse than usual." They sat down next to me, putting an arm around me._

_ "I just heard a, a sad story." I answered, sniffling._

_ "Want to tell it to me?" The stranger asked._

_ So I told them the whole story, leaving out the part that I was the fox. I couldn't let the stranger think bad of me; they were the only friend I had._

_ The stranger stayed silent for a few minutes, and then said. "Poor fox."_

_ I looked up, surprised._

_ "Why 'poor fox'? The fox stole from the mother, and lied to god; the fox is devious and cruel. How could anyone do that?" Tears fell down my cheeks, and then the stranger gently wiped them up with smooth hands._

_ "Because the mother of god isn't as kind as the story portrayed. The mother of the god more mean and cruel than the fox ever was, the mother of the god earned punishment than the fox ever gave her." Such bitterness stuck to the visitor's voice, that it shocked me._

_ "How can you say that? The mother of god loved the little fox like her own, and then the fox betrayed that love. And what about lying to god? What right did the fox have to do that?"_

_ The stranger stopped for a moment before answering coldly. "The mother isn't capable of any love."_

_ I wiped my eyes and looked over at my visitor. Pain was so evident on their face._

_ "God couldn't have been angry at the fox, the fox did nothing wrong. The fox only did what was natural, we all want something in life, some of us are just more determined. If the fox was really loyal to god, shouldn't that cancel it out? Why would the god be mad at what sounds like his only friend?" The stranger's eyes started to well with tears._

_ "Maybe that's why the god is so alone." Tears dripped down their cheeks._

_ As slowly as I could, I moved closer to the stranger, and wrapped my arms around the shivering body._

_ They leaned into me, and we sat there in a sad embrace._

_ But even though the sadness was so evident in both of us, for the first time, we both felt safe._

I awoke to Shigure shaking me.

"Wakey, wakey! Rise and shine!" He smiled happily, and then ran from the room yelping as I pelted him with whatever was in my reach.

I then rolled my eyes, and nestled back into the bed.

I wish I could feel that safe again. I wish, I could see the stranger once again. But that was impossible, they hated me now, Ren said so.


	24. Chapter 24

I wish I could feel that safe again. I wish, I could see the stranger once again. But that was impossible, they hated me now, Ren said so.

_**Chapter Twenty-four- Kyo's Pov**_

__"You know, New Years is coming up, we can't miss it again, Akito wouldn't like that." Shigure commented as we all sat around the table eating.

A month had passed, and now we were in the middle of January, February was right around the bend.

"Why? It's not like anyone would miss me." I growled.

"Can't we see if we can make an exception?" Yuki begged.

Shigure shook his head. "Not another one."

Miyako looked unshattered.

Catching my glance her way, she simply responded "Nobody knows I'm here."

Lucky, lucky girl. "Are you serious?" I cried.

She shrugged. "As far as Ren knows, I'm off somewhere far, far away. Besides, the fox never attended the banquet. I have never, and will never, have a need or want to go to that celebration." She finished steadily, and then resumed slurping her noodles.

"Well, Mimi can keep Tohru company, she'll need it on such a joyous occasion. Don't you agree?" Shigure smiled.

We nodded regretfully. It looks like we weren't going to get out of this one.

"Listen, I know none of you want to go, but we all have to, except for Mimi and Tohru. I don't like it any more than you do, if I had a choice I would stay here and eat a delicious feast made by my little Tohru, but I don't have that choice." Shigure sighed heavily, saying something somewhat wise for once in his life.

I glowered at my plate, but inside I knew there was no getting out of this. I would have to go to another of those damn celebrations, kicked out of the banquet as I am every year.

Great.

As soon as dinner was over, I retreated to the roof, staring up at the star light night sky, just thinking, and dreading, the day of new years.

Soon, I heard a quiet voice speak up. "Hey, don't worry okay Kyo?"

I looked over to see Miyako sitting perched on the roof next to me. She was wearing simple black cargo pants, like mine, and a blue shirt. Her red hair was blowing around in her face as she looked at me with brown eyes, she was worried.

"Easy for you to say, you don't have to go." I grumbled, turning my head back.

I felt her settle on the roof. "Please don't be mad Kyo; I just can't go and confront her yet. If Ren was to find me again, I don't think that she'd just send me off to monks again." She shivered.

I studied her as she looked out across the forest.

She was really scared, and I didn't blame her.

"It's okay, I'm not actually mad at you." I sighed.

The fox cocked her head, and looked at me, questioning me for more.

I sighed. "I'm angry at myself, that I'm actually afraid to go somewhere. I'm supposed to be stronger than this, what my master would think if he knew the weakness that I was showing here?"

Tears began to well in my eyes, how pathetic.

"Everyone has weakness Kyo, even your master, even Ren. What you have to do is realize what that weakness is, and then take care of it the best way you can. There's no way that one person will be strong all around, but they may appear stronger than others because of the way they overcome their own weaknesses in a time of need." She smiled at the night.

I looked at the girl. Had she overcome her own weaknesses?

"No." She answered. Did I say that out loud?

"I could see that you were wondering." She smiled happily at my confusion.

She stood up, balancing beautifully on the dangerous rooftop.

"Just don't worry alright? Everything will turn out okay. And if Ren tries to hurt you, Yuki, or Shigure, I will not hesitate to hurt her much worse." She was serious.

"But if you're not there, then" I started, but she cut me off.

"I said I wasn't going to the celebration, that I wasn't going to let Ren or anyone else know that I exist still. But that doesn't mean I won't be there, watching in the shadows. I'm sneakier than you think." She winked, and then leapt off the top of the roof.

Anyone else would've been seriously hurt, but she landed perfectly on her feet, and went back inside.

I stayed up on the roof, all night in fact. But my thoughts weren't as sad as before, now they felt, more hopeful, stronger.


	25. Chapter 25

_I stayed up on the roof, all night in fact. But my thoughts weren't as sad as before, now they felt, more hopeful, stronger._

_**Chapter Twenty-five- Kyo's Pov**_

___Knock, knock, knock._

We all looked up from our lunch that Miyako had prepared, forcing Tohru out of the kitchen. Miyako had been bored, and Tohru had been tired, so it worked out, and the fox's food was just as good, perhaps even better, than Tohru's. Not that I would ever admit that out loud, for many reasons.

We had just started lunch, and bang, a knocking at the door. I was hungry!

"I'll get it!" Shigure sang, skipping to the door.

Just as I almost had a noodle in my mouth, Shigure ran yelping past me, and dove behind Miyako.

"What's wrong with you?" She sighed.

"Just hide me." He whimpered, shivering behind his little sister.

Yuki and I looked at each other. It could only be one person.

His editor.

Yuki got up. "I better go get that."

I nodded, getting up too.

"Who is it?" Miyako jumped up too, leaping over the table and landing between me and the rat.

"His editor." I whispered spookily.

"Oh, fun!" She smiled, and then ran for the door.

When she opened it, we found the small woman kneeling on the porch, her hands outstretched to the sky, crying.

"You okay?" Miyako laughed.

The editor jumped up. "Where's Shigure? I need the newest transcript! I have a really short time span; please tell me he has it done!"

"Ah, hello there, I hope I didn't cause you to worry too much. You see, I've been so tired from looking after Miyako here, that I haven't had enough time to work on my latest novel. I hope you don't need the transcript any time soon." Shigure walked out, teasing the poor woman like he always did.

Although, I hadn't seen him work on his novel, maybe he _doesn't _have it finished for once.

"WHAT? You don't have it done?" She screamed.

Shigure shook his head. "Meet my little sister Miyako Sohma, she now lives here. So sorry, but I've had to help her settle in and all."

Miyako walked up to the woman. "I am really sorry, I've been so demanding these days, I suppose it is my fault that Shigure doesn't have his transcript done."

The editor froze.

"You really don't have it done? No, Shigure, you wouldn't, you wouldn't do that to me!" She cried.

Shigure shrugged, smiling.

The editor fell to her knees, and started writing something down on her note pad.

_"Dear Mother and Father,_

_ I'm so sorry that it had to end this way,"_

"Now now, none of that. Miyako is a very good brain stormer; she helped me with my novel. The transcripts done, now come on." Shigure sighed, pulling his editor up off the ground gently and dragging her to his office, the woman still sobbing.

"Does he always do that?" Miyako asked.

We nodded.

"Meh, I did that to my math teacher, a monk. Always "forgetting" to do my homework. He hated me so much that I don't think he cared when I left." She laughed, and then went back to the dining room, calling to Tohru that lunch was ready. Tohru had been sleeping this whole time, amazing how one could sleep through that racket.

"Must run in the blood." I commented, and then went back to eat with Miyako.

Inside, I honestly did wonder, how much Shigure and Miyako were alike. I knew that siblings could be a lot different, complete opposites of each other, or exact duplicates of each other. But which were the two canines? Or perhaps, they were a balance in between. It would have to be my luck that Miyako was born first, or maybe Shigure would've inherited her calmness and ease, and maybe his annoying features would be less apparent.

But I can only dream.


	26. Chapter 26

_But I can only dream._

_**Chapter Twenty-six- Kyo's Pov**_

__It was February second, the day of the banquet, New Year 's Eve. Everyone was nervous, me, Yuki, Shigure, Miyako, and even Tohru, but she was just nervous for us. She didn't have to go.

I had been lounging on the highest point of the roof, watching as everything went on below me. Shigure was working on his book, trying to contain the nervousness even he felt. Yuki and Tohru were at the rat's "secret base", which was as I soon found out, a vegetable garden. And Miyako was running around, literally, just patrolling the house, the forest, obviously trying to keep herself busy.

But we all were thinking about the same thing. The banquet.

I hated this day most of all in my life. I was forced to have years and years of rejection shoved back into my face in one dinner, having to wait outside as everyone else enjoyed the food and dancing. This year was the year of the rabbit, Momiji would be dancing tonight, not that I cared, I would never see it.

I sighed, sitting up and glancing around the land that the Sohma family owned. Everyone was still in their places, all but Miyako.

Where had she gone?

Ah, there she was. She was at the far side of the yard, almost disappearing into the tree line, but not quite. She was just sitting there, perched carefully on a tall rock, reflecting like I was. I guess she just enjoyed staying more grounded than I did.

Actually, I knew for a fact she enjoyed the ground much more than heights. I had, on multiple occasions, found her underneath the porch in the crawl space in the middle of the night, sleeping. I would leave her there by Shigure's instructions, it was where the fox felt the most comfortable, it felt like a den to her.

I could understand that. The roof to me was the one safe place I felt, the one place where nobody could sneak up on me without me being able to see, nobody could get past me, and it was the most peaceful of places. Underneath the porch was dark, warm, and cluttered, everything surrounding you, making you feel secure, or at least that's what Miyako told me.

Miyako and I had begun to talk on a regular basis, more than me and Tohru had ever talked, at least about feelings. I told Miyako everything, everything that bothered me, or everything that made me happy. And she listened, and in return, I listened to her.

We were friends, best friends.

"Hey, Kyo!" I heard my name called from the ground.

Looking down I saw Miyako waving for me to come down.

With a flying leap, almost as graceful as Miyako's, I landed in front of her.

"What's up?" I asked, trying to act casual.

Acting casual on the brink of a disastrous hurricane of a banquet was really harder than it may seem.

"Nothing much, just thinking about tonight." She answered, pulling me down onto a rock, and then sitting down herself.

I nodded. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know if I'm going to even come, I mean I know that Tohru's going to spend time with Uo and Hana, but I don't think I'll be able to, go." She sighed, studying her hands.

"Don't worry about it alright? It's fine, nobody will blame you." I put an arm around her shoulders.

Miyako nodded.

"I guess. Then I'll be here when you come back, with some food ready for you Kyokyo." She winked.

I started to growl, but then I decided that it was alright, she could call me that. Nobody else though.

"Alright Koko." I laughed as she grimaced.

"Mimi I can stand, Koko, no." Miyako laughed.

We laughed for a while, just relaxing with each other. But in the back of my mind, I made note that the sun was getting weaker and weaker, and the darkness was seeping out of the cracks in the earth.

Soon, it would be dark, and then we would have to go.

_Then I'll be here when you come back, with some food ready for you Kyokyo._

_ I'll be here. _That was going to help me, just the reminder that there was always going to be someone, someone that could keep me grounded, keeping from getting to far away from everything and everyone else, keep me from getting to far away from life.


	27. Chapter 27 Part One

I'll be here_. That was going to help me, just the reminder that there was always going to be someone, someone that could keep me grounded, keeping from getting to far away from everything and everyone else, keep me from getting to far away from life._

_**Chapter Twenty-seven- Miyako's Pov**_

__"Alright, will you be okay here? We'll be back, hopefully, by the morning." Shigure asked as I adjusted his black tie around his neck.

"I'll be fine; I'm more worried about you guys." I sighed.

Kyo looked up. "Well don't be, we'll be fine too."

I nodded heavily.

"Why don't you go take a nap, by the time you wake up we'll be back." Shigure promised, and slipped on his shoes.

Everyone said goodbye, and then they set off.

My eyes followed their retreating figures, and as soon as they were out of sight, I retreated back into the empty house, Tohru already left for her friend's house.

I guess I really was alone for New Year, but it wasn't all that bad, I could be forced into going to the banquet. That would be ten times worse than any loneliness I could possibly feel. Besides, that was all I had ever felt on this holiday, loneliness.

And as soon as my head hit the pillow, I fell deep asleep.

** !IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE!: **I'm so sorry this is so short, I'll add another part tomorrow, I have string A flu with a fever of 103.7. I am sooooooo sorry, please don't hate me!


	28. Chapter 28 or Chapter 27 Part Two

_And as soon as my head hit the pillow, I fell deep asleep._

_**Chapter Twenty-eight- Miyako's Pov**_

"_Ah, this banquet will be the best of them all. My son gets his little toy, that stupid little rat back. Hopefully that will keep him occupied and out of my hair enough." Ren laughed, tying up her hair as I sat back in the far corner._

"_Well just don't sit there, help me get ready, you need to be good for something." She growled, and I slowly got up and limped over to where she sat, gazing happily into the mirror._

"_I bet you wish you could come to the banquet don't you?" Before I could answer Ren cut me off. "If you hadn't stolen my necklace than you could've. But you, you ignorant little fox, you just couldn't resist."_

_I looked down at my hands._

_Laying a sharp fingernail underneath my chin, she moved my eyes up to her own._

"_It's a bit funny, that you'll never be able to go, that you'll be punished, forever and ever. Your whole existence is to be punished. Your entire life is to make up the wrongs you committed against me and my son."_

_ She then released my chin and her long fingers dipped under her kimono, pulling out an old-fashioned golden key. Slowly, she inserted the key into a small oriental box, and then, when the box was opened, I felt myself, my animal, whimper in pure terror. Inside was the object, the bane of my very existence. This was the thing that caused so much pain for me._

_ Inside, was the necklace._

_ I had always believed that this legendary necklace would be something of great beauty, of elegance, something that nobody could ever resist. But this piece of jewelry fell under those expectations, at least, for me._

_ It was heavily laid with jewels of every color, creating a somewhat annoying sparkling gleam to it, much too bright for the gentle eyes of a fox. It would also be much too heavy for the graceful animal to wear._

_ But perhaps that was just my own opinion, perhaps the pure form of the fox found this appealing, perhaps it was my own tastes that prohibited me from liking this item. For so often do people and animals want something that is illogical for them to posses._

_ "Yes, this is the very necklace, passed down from all the mothers. Beautiful isn't it?"_

_ I nodded; it was what Ren would want to hear._

_ "Good answer." I knew it._

_ Ren stood up. "Well, I had better get going, my dinner does await. But please, don't wait up." She laughed, and strode down the halls, leaving me in the cold black room._

_ One day, I promised myself, one day, I would go to that banquet._

I jerked awake. It had only been thirty minutes. Shigure and the rest of the zodiacs were probably just arriving.

I sighed and glanced around the dark study, the sun was down, and it made the room cold without the blackest. _The cold black room. _

And with that, I made my decision.

Darting to my dresser, I pulled on black long pants, black long sleeved shirt, black gloves, and finally, I pulled a mask over my face and hair.

Then I darted out, slipping easily into the protective darkness the night gave me.

I would not be left behind again. I would be at the banquet, one way, or another.


	29. Chapter 29

___I would not be left behind again. I would be at the banquet, one way, or another._

_**Chapter Twenty-nine- Miyako's Pov**_

__I silently snuck through the alleys, keeping out of sight of the all the night wanderers, even though there were few.

Then I finally reached a hill, a hill that overlooked the entire Sohma house, the house that caused me my worst pain, the house that contained my worst fears, the house that was my nightmares.

With one deep breath, I quickly leapt from the top of the steep hill, gracefully landing on top of the thin fence that lined the property, without even making it shiver.

I then quietly skirted around on the fence until I could easily jump from it to the roof, and from there, I was all set. From the roof, I could survey for the best place to observe the banquet.

I could also see something else, someone else should I say. Someone with an orange mop of hair who was tiredly leaning up against a tree. In Vietnam, this would be his year instead of the rabbit, but I wasn't going to tell Kyo that, it may just make him more miserable.

Poor cat.

But I didn't have time to stop, nor did I really want Kyo to know I was there, it could only worry him that I would be possibly caught.

There was no modern glass skylight, nor a conveniently angled window.

But there were two large double doors, two double doors that were _open, _right across from a rather large and leafy tree.

Perfect.

With one easy leap, I landed without a sight or sound on the thin branches, and gracefully leaned down against the bark. I was so light by nature, that the tree had no problem supporting me.

With that, I let myself relax, and look at the banquet, right behind those two double doors, that I was now on mere feet away from.

I took off my black mask to see the sight in front of me more clearly.

It was magnificent. Really, really, magnificent.

Everyone was there, or at least, I guessed everyone was there. I didn't actually know everyone in the zodiac, but there was a dancer in the front, so that must be the rabbit, and then Shigure and Yuki were all sitting at the table. Lining the rest of the dining hall were assorted people, a man with long white hair next to a man with dark hair that was swept over one of his eyes, Ayame and Hatori, a boy with sandy hair next to a girl with orange hair and golden eyes, a teenager perhaps a little younger than Yuki with black and white hair sat next to a girl older than himself with long, long dark hair. And there were still more.

But they were obscured by the tree, and I couldn't move the branch without a risk of being noticed, and no matter how small that risk was, I couldn't afford to take it. But there was one who I could only wish was obscured.

No, she was in front of my very eyes, her glittering necklace almost shining just to taunt me, as if it knew I was there.

I hated that necklace.

Suddenly, Ren stood up, blocking my view of the shimmering enemy. "Excellent performance Momiji." Her sickly sweet voice flooded the night.

The rabbit dancer, Momiji, bowed and then sat down next to Shigure, smiling.

Ren sat back down to, much to the relief of a teenage boy who looked to be older than Kyo and Yuki by at least a few years, but he wasn't old in the least bit.

When I saw his face, the sharp chin, the dark eyes, they all seemed, familiar.

He frowned at Ren and she merely ignored his glare.

Then Shigure stood up. "To the year of the rabbit!"

"To the year of the rabbit!" Everyone cheered.

I smiled at this, everyone seemed so, comfortable. Like they were in a group that they fit in with, the zodiac.

Even Kyo and I, we belonged in a strange sort of way. We were the outcasts, the hated few. But it was where we belonged; it was where we would probably stay until the end of time. It was our own group, the group of outcasts.

Just then, I was pulled out of my thoughts by a crash. I looked up to see the dining hall completely stilled.

Ren was standing up, her hands balled into fists, staring at a whimpering Shigure.

"How dare you make the toast?" She screamed.

Yep, that was the Ren I remembered.

Everyone stared in confusion.

"It was _my _turn to make the toast this year idiot!" Ren glared at him, her high pitch hurting not only my ears, but I'm sure my brother's as well.

Anger welled inside of me, nobody yells at my brother.

And then, she lifted the knife that was next to her at the table, and drew her hand back to throw it.

Nobody had time to react; nobody really saw the violent outburst coming in the first place. Ren usually sits dutifully next to her son, silent throughout. But they don't know Ren like I do. They didn't listen to her complain about never being able to speak at the banquet, about never getting a chance to introduce the new year, about being "left out of all the fun".

So of course nobody saw it coming.

Nobody, except me.

And as soon as I saw Ren, the person I hated most in the world, the person that hurt me most in my life, lift the knife, and was about to hurt the one person that was my true family, that was the one I cared for most of all, not just anger took over, instinct took over too. The instinct of the fox, to fight to the death, to protect family and friends at all cost, to hurt those who hurt those who they care for.

All the anger and instinct made me do one simple action, one simple movement. The agility and ease of the fox let me fly towards the open doors; the keen eyes the fox used to spot the hardest of prey caught the flight of the knife. The fast reflexes the fox bestowed to my body allowed me to grab the knife in the middle of my own flight, and the anger I felt let me land easily on the mother of the god and hold the knife to her throat without flinching.

_"Table's have turned, haven't they Ren?" _I whispered to her.


	30. Chapter 30

"_Tables have turned, haven't they Ren?" I whispered to her._

_**Chapter Thirty- Shigure's Pov**_

I had been seconds away from being impaled with a very sharp object, when, in a blur of red, white, orange, and black, the blade was stopped in mid air, and Ren was knocked to the ground.

And holding the woman down was my sister, Miyako, who had the sharpest blade resting dangerously on Ren's jugular. Miyako looked completely unmoved, no emotion in her face, just focus, focus on the blade, the throat, and the woman. That focus kept my little sister from anything else.

Everyone was silent, shock overcoming all of us, including Ren. Not only was she shocked into silence, but to risk moving her jugular to speak, would risk inching the soft skin of the throat closer to the cold unfeeling silver blade.

Everyone waited, for anything to happen. Nobody knew what would happen, nobody could. Everyone just, waited, silently. Including me, for I knew, at this point, Miyako wouldn't care what I had to say. In fact, I'm not sure that there were many people that could pull her out of the protective mode, the deadly mode, that she had been dragged into when I was threatened.

Just then, Ren decided to speak, risking it all. "Well, someone came back I see."

Miyako's face remained unmoved, non-flinching, the words meaning nothing but simply words, a statement. A statement is not needed to be replied to, only a question. The fox didn't move, not an inch, to get off of the older woman.

The knife glinted dangerously.

With a quick glance around, I saw the confusion in the younger ones' faces. Of course, they didn't know who Miyako was, very few did. Miyako was only allowed to play with Hatori, Ayame, and I, and that was for a very limited amount of time. After that, it was Ren, the doctors, and then, the monks. With this glance, I saw that Hatori and Ayame had slight smiles gracing their lips, as did I, I am sure. I don't believe anyone has ever threatened Ren with a knife before, perhaps Akito, but that was different. This was a zodiac, and of course the first zodiac to ever threaten the mother of god with a knife would be my own little sister, Mimi.

"Are you going to kill me or not?" Ren tried to act exasperated, but she failed miserably, fear slipping out into her voice.

Ah, finally, a question, a question that would have to be answered, if not by actions, then by words.

Miyako seemed to think for a moment, and then finally responded.

"Killing you now would be too easy for my taste, but perhaps damaging you so that you would die slowly, later on, so you could suffer, that could be enjoyable to me." She responded coldly, colder than I had ever heard Miyako speak. The hatred, the lack of any emotion, the darkness, it was incredible, whatever Ren had done to the fox, it was obviously coming back to bite her now.

"My son is the god; he will not allow you to kill me." Ren smirked.

I looked at Akito, who was simply staring at Miyako, not caring about his mother's state. His face had, recognition, could it be? Akito had only heard Miyako, not seen her, not known her, had he? No, Ren would never allow it, never allow her son to have a friend.

"If your son loves you as much as you love him, I'm sure that I will not be threatened by him too much." She responded.

Ren scowled. "My son loves me, and I love him. Like you don't have enough people against you in this family. Killing me would only make your curse worse. First, you steal my necklace, and now, you'll steal my life." She sniffled at this.

"Cut the drama, maybe I'll remove your voice instead, people may be grateful for that. Your words are so much worse than your bite." Miyako laughed.

Then, Akito stood up and walked towards Miyako from behind.

"Not that I really want to stop you from killing my mother, but one, I don't want blood on this floor, it stains, and two, I want to talk with you, Miyako." He gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

She yanked her shoulder out of the way, startled, but kept the knife in place.

"I won't hurt you, I promise." Akito whispered, replacing his hand.

Miyako slowly looked up, this time, her face held recognition as well.

_**Author's Note:**_ Hey everyone! I'm still sick, but a little better! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please, REVIEW! My goal is to get one-hundred reviews by the end of this story ;) No, numbers don't matter, I just want to know what you all think! THANKS!


	31. Chapter 31

_Miyako slowly looked up, this time, her face held recognition as well._

_**Chapter Thirty-One- Miyako's Pov**_

___"I won't hurt you, I promise."_

His face, his voice, I knew it so well. That face, that voice, it saved me from my pain. That face, that voice, it was all so familiar, I knew that young man. I knew him well. He was my visitor.

But as I looked at him, Ren kicked out with her heeled foot, right into my stomach, causing me to go flying back into the far wall. But as soon as my back hit the hard wall, I used the momentum to fly straight for Ren once again, and I landed a well placed punch on her left shoulder.

The next punch she blocked, but I could tell she was not well adapted in the arts. That, and she was in a kimono, and I, was in pants. Her long hair was blocking her eyes, my short hair was pulled back in a high pony tail, and only my side bangs hanging down.

_Ha, suck it all up you stupid monks!_

The knife had fallen when Ren delivered her first blow, and now, it was back in her hands. But I had seen that woman with weapons before, again and again, why should it scare me now?

I dodged a slash, leaning back under her arm as it swiped the air where my face used to be, and then, using my arms to stabilize myself, I swiped her off her feet using my own two legs. She fell, but still held that knife. And I knew I had to get past that knife, and before that, I could get pretty badly hurt.

To hell with it, so what if I got hurt by Ren, it wouldn't be the first time.

I lunged at her, but she rolled out of the way, quite by chance. Or maybe I was a bit off in my timing; I was just thrown across a room. That did hurt.

She tried to stab me while I was down, but as quickly as I was down, I was up again, and this time, I gave all my focus to defeating this one, stupid, insignificant woman.

And that focus was all I needed.

I kicked up, towards her hands, as she prepared to stab my stomach, and the knife sailed out of her hands, landing on the dining table, exactly where it had been.

With a twist in the air, I used the other foot to send her sailing backwards back into her chair, so that she landed hard, sitting up. In a mere flash, I was over next to her, holding the knife to her throat once again.

"And what was the purpose of that?" I smirked.

She glowered at me. "What, are you here to steal my necklace? That's long overdue. Or are you just going to kill me?"

That stupid necklace, that thing I hated so much, around her neck, the very neck that I had a knife to. If I just moved my hand a little lower than her jugular, just too above her collar bone, I would meet with the gold and jewels that glistened sickeningly.

The anger I felt when she reminded me of my curse, of why my life has always been so horrible, so hard, so hellish, that anger awakened a part of me that had laid dormant all those years.

My grip tightened on the blade, and then, I pressed down, and sliced.

Ren cried out in pain.

I caught the necklace that had fallen off, the chain that held it in place cut in two, leaving behind merely a scratch on Ren's ill white flesh, a flesh with a slight bit of blood that pooled in small dots.

Even though at first, I had sought more blood, all the blood I had suffered, all the pain I bared through, something changed my decision. Something made me seek different revenge; something that had awakened inside, it was my animal, the fox. The fox had awakened.

And it had stolen the necklace, not out of want, but out of revenge, in the name of justice.

I then leaned down and whispered in Ren's ear. _"Trust me; it was only pretty to you."_

And with that, I slipped the necklace into my pants pocket, and walked outside.


	32. Chapter 32

___And with that, I slipped the necklace into my pants pocket, and walked outside._

_**Chapter Thirty-two- Kyo's Pov**_

Laughter and music, I could still hear it from all the way from my little hiding place. I was sitting on the ground, right underneath a large tree, a good hundred feet away from the banquet. The further away I could get, the better I would feel.

But nothing could make me feel better today it would seem. It was the day of the banquet, the day my exile was felt the most, was shown the most. It was the day that I hated out of all the days. Some considered it a fresh, new start, but I found it to be just dragging.

In the back of my head, I wondered how Miyako was doing. Was she at home, sleeping in her bed? Was she awake at watching the television, basking in the quietness of the house now that we were all away? Or maybe she was here, right now, causing trouble or spying.

I got my answer soon.

I heard a rustle above my head. Looking up, I saw, just in time, Miyako leaping down at me. She was dressed in all black, her reddish hair streaming out behind her as she landed on the ground right next to me.

"Hey." She panted.

I raised an eyebrow. "Hey."

"What happened to you?" I asked after a moment.

The fox smirked happily. "Remember that story I told you? About the fox and the necklace?"

I nodded. How could I not? The fox stole the necklace, and the mother decided to forever punish her by cursing her along with all the other zodiac creatures.

"Well, this is the necklace." Miyako reached into her pants and pulled out a heavily jeweled gold piece of women's jewelry that looked like it had been cut in two.

My eyes widened. "You stole it? Again? How?"

She shrugged, and I felt that that would be the end of that conversation for a little while.

But then I saw a few tears coming out of her eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked, leaning towards her.

"Nothing, everything, I don't know. It just seems, it's just, urg, our lives really suck hard don't they?" Miyako groaned and leaned back into me.

"Yep, they really do."

"Do you think they'll ever get better?" She looked up at me.

I shrugged. And that was all that was needed, a shrug.

Because, in reality, our whole life was a shrug. We didn't know what would happen, and personally, I didn't care. I'm pretty sure Miyako didn't either. That's the thing when you're exiled from the group, when you're the outsiders. You make your own rules; you decide what you're going to do and who you're going to be, without the group's approval.

"I think I want to be a writer when I grow up, sorta like Shigure." Miyako sighed as she leaned against my chest.

I could see her, wearing a kimono like her brother's, sitting at her desk dutifully finishing her transcript, and then when her editor came around, torturing the poor man out of his mind. I'm sure she would be a good writer too.

"What about you Kyokyo?"

"I don't really know, I've never planned that far ahead really." I answered.

"No time like the present." She joked.

I thought for a moment, and then answered. "I want to be a zodiac."

Miyako looked up at me with a sad smile.

"I'm beginning to doubt if a zodiac is really all its hyped up to be." She sighed.

I looked down at her, surprised.

"I mean, they have to go to that banquet every year, they can't skip it like I can, and they don't get out early like you do. They have to sit there, practically tied to their seats, and pretend to like everyone there; even though I know even Shigure has enemies amongst the zodiacs. They have to worry about Ren and the god's approval on everything they do, and they have to live in that house, or in Shigure's. They have to take orders, and obey what the god says, and what others who are superior could say. Everything seems so, structured and tight, there would be no room for me, no room for the fox. I would want to make trouble, have fun, lighten the mood up, get to know everyone, skip out on the banquet, be allowed to hate Ren, I wouldn't fit in. And you know, I used to wish every day that I was in that little group, that I was a real zodiac. But now, I don't. I don't want to be a zodiac. I'm the fox, I was never, ever, meant to be a real zodiac."

I stared at her. Partially out of shock, and partially out of the shock that she was _right. _

The zodiacs, maybe even that damn rat Yuki, has it harder in many ways that Kyo had.

"But we also have it hard. We have to sit out here while they have at least a little fun. We have to wait, to just simply hear about it from others. We are cast out from the group, cast out from having any friends. We are let loose, because nobody cares either way. The outcasts will always be outcasts, and the zodiacs will always be the zodiacs, but it doesn't mean that I can't wish that I was them. That I could be in that group too." I answered.

I felt her nod against my chest. "I think that if we knew the truth about how being in the zodiac actually was, it would ruin the magic of wanting to be in the zodiac."

And we ended with that.


	33. Chapter 33

_And we ended with that._

_**Chapter Thirty-Three- Miyako's Pov**_

"Hello again." A voice came from behind me.

I had left Kyo behind just a few minutes ago, leaving him to his own thoughts, and bringing me to mine. I had wandered aimlessly, avoiding anyone and everyone, especially the banquet hall. I did just steal Ren's necklace, my guess was, she wasn't pleased.

I had decided to rest on the porch of a particularly appealing set of rooms. It was just so open, so free, and so peaceful. It was barren, it was just, simple. I looked out over the silent Zen garden, studying the rocks that were so carefully placed, and looking at how the sand swirled around and around, like a tiny whirlpool in a large lake. So beautiful, whoever stayed here was very lucky. And it seems that I had just met them.

I turned around, to see the same man, my visitor. His hair was longer, when I had first met him it had just started to go into his eyes, but now he had bangs into his eyes, and longer strands on the side. His face had narrowed from its former childish roundness, and he had become paler, much paler. His frame had also gotten skinner, longer. He was very, very handsome.

"Hello." I answered, nervous. Had he come to retrieve the necklace? Was he angry?

We looked at each other, each of us studying the other, taking in the changes.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"What are you doing here?" I responded.

"I asked first." He argued.

"And I asked second. So answer me." I retorted.

He sighed with a small smile. "I live here."

Oh. "Oh, nice."

We both nodded, filling the silence.

"And you are here because?"

"Wandering through, I'll be leaving." I said, getting up, from my sitting position, but he stopped me.

"It's fine. It's a nice place to sit, isn't it?" And my visitor sat down next to me.

We sat together, staring at the garden, and just as I was about to speak, he beat me to it.

"You know, even though we knew each other all those years, you never told me who you were; what your name was or even how you connected to the zodiac."

I looked up. "Neither did you."

"I asked first." He raised an eyebrow.

"And I hinted the question second. Answer me." I laughed slightly.

"Let's not get back into this. I went first last time, you go first this time." He groaned.

I reluctantly nodded, it was pretty fair. "My name is Miyako Sohma, I'm Shigure's little sister."

"I'm Akito Sohma, it's nice to finally know your name Miyako." Akito, my visitor, smiled at me.

I smiled in response, and turned back to the garden. A question that I had managed to submerge was now eating me up from the inside.

"Why'd you never come back?" I asked.

He looked up, shock crossing his face. "Ren told me you never wanted to see me again."

I cocked my head in question. "Ren told _me _that _you _never wanted to see _me _again, that you hated me!"

Our eyes widened, we realized the true culprit. "Ren."

"That stupid woman." Akito banged his fist against the floorboards of the porch.

My feelings matched his, but instead, I gripped the necklace harder in my hands. It almost felt that it was Ren, that I was hurting Ren herself, not just her necklace. I suppose in a way, this always had been Ren to me, not that person that tortured me, this figment of the story, the necklace. That was the real Ren.

"She's more twisted than I thought." I sighed.

Akito looked at me.

"She always has been." And then, he gently hauled me to my feet.

"Come on, let's walk." He suggested, holding out his arm, which I took willingly.


	34. Chapter 34

"_Come on, let's walk." He suggested, holding out his arm, which I took willingly._

_**Chapter Thirty-Four- Miyako's Pov**_

"So do you enjoy living with your brother and the others?" Akito asked me as we walked through the woods that covered the back of the Sohma property.

I shrugged. "It's alright, I mean, someone has to look after them, especially Shigure."

"Well, what about Tohru?" He asked, looking up at a small bird that was chirping from a high branch in the nearest tree.

"I don't know, I've never been very, close, to Tohru." I answered.

"You're not friends? Do you not like her?"

I shook my head. "It's not that I don't like her, she's just not one of those people I would be friends with. She's just, just, almost too submissive. It gets annoying, all she does is apologize, and look after other people. Do you know what I mean?"

He nodded. "Yes, it sounds as if it _would _be rather annoying."

"You don't like Tohru?" I questioned, seeing a look of slight, disgust, cross his face.

Akito looked to me. "Ms. Honda and I have never seen eye to eye."

I raised an eyebrow, but left it at that. There was no need to clarify what he meant; I could already see that Akito disliked Tohru.

We walked along, passing by tall trees, short bushy shrubs, and walking over moist moss and green grass, until we reached the destination Akito had been thinking of.

It was a small, sunlit meadow with thin, delicate trees which swayed gently in the slight wind, their leaves shimmering. The grass was long and soft looking, and it completely covered any dirt. There were the sounds of bird calls that could be detected from anywhere in the clearing, as well as the soothing trickle of a stream, hidden and nestled in the bushes and trees somewhere.

"Wow, nice spot. You Sohma's are really spoiled." I commented, sitting down on a protruding rock that was sitting in the middle, the sun beams sneaking through the trees to soak it.

"You _are _a Sohma as well, you are entitled to all the wealth we have. It's not just for the zodiacs." He said, sitting down on the ground beneath the rock.

"But they do get most of it." He added with a laugh.

I smiled.

"So, are you ever going to tell me why Ren had you in that room all these years?" Akito asked, looking up at me.

I looked away, letting my dark eyes wander around the field. "Do I have to?"

I caught the movement of him shaking his head out of the corner of my eye. "No, but it would be nice."

I sighed.

"I'm cursed as well."

Akito looked a little surprised, not much though. "So that _is _your natural hair color."

I laughed. "Yes, completely natural."

"Then what are you cursed with?" He asked.

I took a breath. "I'm the fox."

He stayed silent for a second.

"_You're _the fox?" He exclaimed.

I nodded.

"That's awesome!" I had never seen my visitor, Akito, so excited about anything. I doubt anyone ever has.

"Why is that so awesome?" I asked, puzzled.

"Because, you're the fox, and I'm god. We're destined to be friends." Akito explained.

"_You're _the god?" I exclaimed. Wait, friends?

He nodded a smile on his face.

"You're not mad at me for stealing your mother's necklace?" I asked, he was there, he saw it.

"No, why would I be? Ren deserved it, always has."

This stopped me.

"Always has?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, you've heard the myth haven't you?"

I nodded. "I told it to you."

Akito's eyes lit up. "I remember that, not all of it, but most. You were upset because you thought it was all the fox's fault."

"Yeah, it w_as _the fox's fault. She stole the necklace from the trusting mother and that made the god loose all the trust and friendship towards the fox, and therefore punished her with a curse." I summarized.

Akito now looked confused, but then he seemed to work something out in his head.

"That's not how I read it." He said, a smirk coming over his face.

"What do you mean?"

"Come on." He said, jumping up, and grabbing me."I have to show you something."

**Author's Note: **I realize that I made Akito a little happy in this chapter; I just wanted to try out this side of him. Don't worry, he'll calm down and go to a somewhat gloomy Akito eventually ;). Anyways, please review! Thanks for keeping with the story, and if you don't like this chapter, I PROMISE PROMISE PROMISE you will like the next one! It's going to be REALLY good!


	35. Chapter 35

"_Come on." He said, jumping up, and grabbing me."I have to show you something."_

_**Chapter Thirty-Five- Miyako's Pov**_

He led me through the Sohma house, easily slipping past the still very, very crowded and loud banquet hall where everyone was still eating and having a great time. We slipped right past and slipped into Akito's quarters.

"Here, sit." He ordered, and I did just that, sitting down on the green pillow he had pointed to.

Akito then slinked up to a tall bookshelf in the corner of the room, and grabbed an ancient looking book with a torn and ratty cover. On it was the title "_The Zodiacs"_.

"Read this." Akito said, and opened the book to a certain page, and handed it to me.

The first thing I saw was the illustration, a beautiful illustration with a young girl, sitting under against a large, throne that held a young boy. The girl had long red hair that reached down her back in a shaggy cut, and the boy had his bangs resting against the sides of his face, and hanging into his eyes. He wore a regal looking kimono, while she wore baggy black pants and a red and black kimono. And they were just sitting there, the girl perfectly content to sit right underneath the boy, who looked perfectly content just by having her there, with him. Their hands were clasp together, the boy's eyes open, the girl's eyes closed.

It was the fox and the god. They were both there, together. This must've been before the theft of the necklace, whilst they were still close.

And then, I looked down at the writing. It was composed of elegant kanji symbols, matching the beauty of the drawing that accompanied it easily.

_On the night of the banquet, which all the animals were to come, all but the cat, the fox sat next to the god. The entire zodiac had a bond with the god, but the god and the fox shared something more special, a closer, tighter bond than anyone else. They stuck together, the fox was loyal, and would do anything to assist god. Whatever the god needed to do, the fox would create a plan to help him do it. Whatever the god needed help on, the fox would help him with. The other animals respected the bond between the two, and every person respected it as well. All but one._

_She was the mother of the god, and she was jealous, jealous that her son would ever make friends with such an animal. The mother found the fox to be too beautiful, too light hearted, too worriless, too perfect, and the mother decided to change that, change it all. No longer, she decided, would her son trust the fox, she was out to break the bond._

_So that night, when all the animals were just arriving, the fox slipped out, telling the god that she had grown tired over the long day, and seeing that she was not needed, asked to be excused. The mother heard this and took it as her opportunity to strike. She followed the girl to her quarters, and before she could enter her room, the mother stopped her, asking her for help. Not one to refuse someone as close to the god as god's mother, the fox agreed, and walked with the mother to her own quarters. There, the mother asked for her to search for a bracelet she had lost, promising that she would be right back after looking in one other place just a little ways down the hall, where she also could've dropped it._

_But instead of going a little ways down the hall, the mother went straight back to the fox's quarters, and planted the necklace that she had been carrying in her sash for just this very moment. Carefully, she placed it between two small scrolls that the fox had stored in her above ground rooms, for not only did the fox have rooms in the house, she also had a specially made den built for herself. It was exposed only when a Tatami mat was lifted out of place, and it was where she slept._

_Then, she hurried back to her own rooms, and when the fox announced she had found the bracelet, which had never been missing in the first place, but dropped carelessly in somewhere in the room, the mother dismissed the fox with heavy thanks._

_In the morning, the mother made a fuss, about her necklace disappearing "mysteriously". She caused so much of a fuss; soon every animal was searching for it, in every room, until a few hours later, a young brown-haired serving girl found it between the two scrolls. The fox denied putting it there, but the evidence was too much. Not only had the fox exited the banquet early, but she had been seen coming out of the mother's quarters late last night._

_Everyone abandoned the fox after that. Nobody cared about her anymore, she had dropped from the god's right hand girl, to the lying thief. So destroyed was the fox from this, that she retreated to her den underneath the mats in her room, and wouldn't come out to see anyone, not that anyone actually came. Except, for the god._

_He came daily, every day trying to get his beloved companion to come out of her den once again, but she refused. So ashamed was she that she couldn't disprove the false accusations against her, that she didn't want to have to burden the god with her presence, for the fox deemed herself unworthy._

_But finally, the god said five little words that made her emerge from her den. "You know, I believe you."_

_As to never be separated from his beloved friend, he placed the curse on her as well, with her own permission, binding him to her forever and her to him. And the mother was left, forever, to try to break the bond._

I looked up at Akito. "Is this all true?"

He nodded. "This is the original copy. Nothing is untrue about the zodiacs inside this book."

I looked down at it. It looked so plain, such an ordinary book, but to me, it would be the most treasured thing that had ever existed. It had told me the truth.


	36. Chapter 36

_I looked down at it. It looked so plain, such an ordinary book, but to me, it would be the most treasured thing that had ever existed. It had told me the truth._

_**Chapter Thirty-Six- Shigure's Pov**_

I had exited the banquet hall a little while ago. Even though I did enjoy the noise and the people, I had decided to take a break. Perhaps it was my way of justifying looking for Miyako. I could think of nobody else throughout the dinner, I was worried about her.

Ren, of course, was in an uproar about her necklace, angered that it had been stolen. Ren always could throw a fit. And this one was such a loud one, Akito himself had to be excused because his head had begun to hurt, and he hadn't been feeling his best. Even though Akito could be cruel, and sometimes seem a little insane, I felt that he wasn't all bad, that he was just, lost.

And with a mother like Ren, who wouldn't be. I found myself walking past Akito's rooms, and I would've continued, had I not heard happy laughter coming from within. Happy laughter that I had grown to know and to cherish, Miyako's.

I peeked my head in, to see my little sister giving the god a hug, a book discarded next to her, and not only that, but Akito had his arms loosly draped around her waist, returning the hug. That was something you did_ not _see every day, in fact, you didn't see that _any _day.

I knocked lightly on the door. "Hope I'm not disturbing anything."

Miyako saw me and leapt out of Akito's arms and into mine. I felt her entire body shake, she was really happy. I hadn't seen her this happy in a long time, since she was four and it had been her birthday, but that was a story for a different time.

"What happened?" I questioned Akito, who was leaning against the door that looked out over the garden.

"I didn't do it! Well, now I did, but that was for revenge, but I didn't do it originally! Whoo hoo!" She cried and did a back flip out of my arms.

I couldn't help the smile that slipped out onto my face. But I still had no idea what she was talking about.

"Here dog, read it." Akito leaned down and picked up the book that had fallen when Miyako had given him a hug.

I looked at the page. It illustrated a young girl, who strangely resembled Miyako, leaning against a throne which held a boy, who looked strangely like Akito. The fox and god. I began to quickly read the myth, and to my delight, it ended just how I had always dreamed it would.

Miyako, who had been watching me read, now asked. "Isn't it great?"

I nodded, speechless, and held out my arms for a hug, which she very willingly accepted.

"Well, are you coming home tonight, or are you going to stick around a little longer?" I asked after about an hour had gone by of an excited Miyako, and an irritated Akito, although I was quite sure he was just as excited as Miyako was. He had finally recovered his friend.

She sighed. "I don't think I should stay, Ren is here. Besides, you three would starve to death, Tohru isn't coming home until tomorrow evening."

Akito looked, disappointed?

"Well, Ren doesn't have to know, I'm not telling her. Besides, we can just buy some inari from the store on our way back. We won't die in one day." I assured her, although with our cooking skills, we probably could. No, Kyo can make rice balls, we'll be alright.

"I don't have anywhere to stay. Just let me come home with you guys." She rolled her eyes, knowing that we didn't have any ability to survive.

"You can stay here." Akito offered.

Miyako's eyes lit up, and I knew that I couldn't take her away from here for the world.

"Bye little sister." I kissed her on the cheek, and the quickly retreated out of the room.

"Bye Shishi!" She called after me.

I could hear the big grin in her voice.


	37. Chapter 37

_I could hear the big grin in her voice._

_**Chapter Thirty-Seven- Miyako's Pov**_

"_Well, well, well. Why are you so sad?" Ren voice cut into me._

"_Was it that story I told you about? Aw, don't be sad, you shouldn't have to suffer for something you personally didn't do. Oh, wait, yes you should."_

_I studied my grimy feet from where I sat, curled up, in that corner, against the cold hard rock. Tears were dripping out of my eyes, landing on the dusty ground, causing dark circles to spread._

"_Or is it the paint that you're feeling right now?" She laughed cruelly and struck me again with her new favorite toy, the piece of barbed wire she had discovered in some old shed. It was rusted and sharp, perfect for her uses, painfully so._

_It dug into my skin, not just causing the usual line of pain that the leather whip causes, the one she usually used, but its tiny little teeth snagged in my skin, causing it to stick. And when Ren "gently" unstuck it, more and more tears would come, accompanied by more and more blood each time._

_Blood and tears, Ren's favorite combination._

"_You will never be trusted ever again, do you understand? You broke every line of trust you had, leaving you with no one, nothing, you are nothing, nothing. You used to pretend to be something, all that time ago, but now, it is painfully clear what you are. You are indeed, nothing." She lashed down again, and again._

_I cried every time, tears and blood, blood and tears._

"_Miyako?" I heard a voice. Where had it come from? There was nobody here but Ren and I. _

_Another lash of barbed wire, more tears, more blood._

"_Miyako!" The voice cried again._

_I looked blindly around._

"Miyako!" I awoke to a concerned looking Akito. He had my head gently cradled in his lap.

"Are you alright?" I tried to respond, but I couldn't, the memory was too much, the pain, it had felt so real. Memories of Ren during the banquet struck my mind, overloading it, making it too much to bear.

I started to cry, a little, just a little. Ren and the monks had both taught me that crying was weakness, and weakness, was unacceptable.

But the tears became more and more.

"It's alright Mimi, it's just me. It's Akito, your friend. You're going to be alright." He said, and plucked me up into his thin arms. I was just as small as he was, so it worked, we fit, perfectly.

My arms grabbed onto his neck, feeling his silky hair beneath my finger tips.

He silently stroked my own hair, and I easily sunk into his touch. I was comforted by him, by him simply being there, being able to feel the strength of his chest against my forehead, his strength.

But even though he was there, despite my comfort, I kept crying. Ren's pain was too much. But one day, I hoped that it wouldn't be, that one day, Akito's strength _would _save me from the pain.

"Shh, it's okay Miyako. I'm here for you, I won't hurt you, and I won't ever leave you."


	38. Chapter 38

"_Shh, it's okay Miyako. I'm here for you, I won't hurt you, and I won't ever leave you."_

_**Chapter Thirty-Eight- Miyako's Pov**_

"Are you sure you have to leave so soon? You could stay for another night, I'm sure nobody would mind." Akito attempted, but I shook my head.

"I have to get back, they'll be starving already I'm sure. The kitchen must be a mess." I shivered at the thought. Well, Tohru gets to clean it up.

Akito sighed and returned reluctantly to his udon, as did I. For once, other than with Tohru, I didn't have to make my own, and let me tell you, I loved it. I didn't have to watch over as someone made their own meals, all I had to do, was sit down, and it was automatically served.

So far, Akito hadn't said a word about last night, for which I was grateful. Me after nightmares wasn't the best example of my character. But he didn't seem to mind.

"So, what do you think of Yuki and Kyo so far?" He asked politely.

I shrugged. "Kyo's awesome, but Yuki is kind of quiet. It makes me uncomfortable when people don't speak their minds, or speak them too much. Kyo, he speaks but he doesn't talk nonstop, which is nice."

Akito nodded. "That does make some sense."

I studied his pale face. "Are you alright?"

"Not really, but I'm getting by." He answered, putting a hand to his head and massaging his temples.

"Are you sick?" I asked, getting a little concerned.

He shrugged. "Don't worry, it's not like it's going away any time soon, I've been sick since I was born."

I lightly touched his arm. "I'm sorry, is there anything I can do?"

He thought for a moment. "Well, there is one thing."

"What?" I asked.

"You could, stay another night?" He smiled.

"Oh, you fight dirty." I giggled.

"No, I really do have to get back to Shigure and the others. I do wish I could stay how about I come back later? When will you be available?" I smiled sadly.

Akito sighed. "I'm always here, and I'm always available."

I felt sorry for him, really sorry for him. He was stuck in this big house basically by himself. I didn't see that he had any friends, and nobody seemed to be doing anything around here, it was so quite, so empty.

"Alright, I'll come back, soon, I promise." I smiled widely.

And he smiled back. I loved his smile, I got a feeling others rarely, if ever, saw it.

After breakfast, we stood up, and Akito began to walk me towards the front of the house, when we were stopped by a happy girlish looking boy.

"Hey Akito! Hey, you were at the banquet weren't you?" He asked me.

I nodded. "Cool! I'm Momiji, the rabbit!" He introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you Momiji, I'm Miyako, the fox." As I predicted, the little rabbit seemed confused, but that didn't stop him.

"Awesome! Well, see you guys later, I gotta go find Hatori!" He cried over his shoulder as he ran towards a separate part of the house.

I looked towards Akito, who was looking, rather irritated. "Sorry about that, the zodiac enjoy meeting new people."

I smiled. "It's alright Akito, I don't mind."

He sighed. "I figured you wouldn't. You seem so, I don't know, social. I wish I could be, social, some times. But social is just not one of those things I am."

I rested my head on his shoulder as we walked. "You just need some practice, that's all."

He smiled down at me. "You'll help me?"

I nodded, removing my head from his shoulder.

"Of course!" I smiled again. Akito could make me really smile, _really _smile, not just a meaningless smile, that was for the reassurance of others, but a smile that reflected my own happiness.

Maybe Akito just made me happy in general.

I guess we really were bonded.

"Thanks." Akito suddenly said as we approached the gate.

"For what?" I smiled.

"Everything." He said, and then, for merely a second, his lips were on mine, his breath was on my cheek.

As soon as it happened, it ended, and Akito separated from me.

"Thanks." I smiled happily.

"That was insurance you'll come back." He winked.

"Oh trust me, I'll be coming back." I laughed, and then started walking home.


	39. Chapter 39

"_Oh trust me, I'll be coming back." I laughed, and then started walking home._

_**Chapter Thirty-Nine- Kyo's Pov**_

"I'm home!" I heard Miyako call from my place on the roof. Looking down, I saw her looking up, with a huge smile on her face.

And, with a flying leap, I landed perfectly on my feet in front of her. She gave me a big hug. "It seems like I've been away forever! You didn't hurt the kitchen too badly did you?"

I shook my head. "Your precious kitchen is fine, Shigure picked up some inari so we managed fine. How was your night with the Sohmas?"

Miyako smiled wider. "It was awesome! I had a really great time!"

This surprised me. "With Akito?"

She nodded. "He's pretty cool once you get to know him. Anyways, let's go inside, I need to make you three your lunch."

That's right, lunch! I was starving, so I quickly followed her inside without any more questions. I would ask her later on, after I had been fed, and after a nice, long, nap. That would be very nice. Last night had been so hectic, at least for some of us. I had simply sat outside whilst other people had a hectic night. But then again, I did have to deal with everything that happened during the night, which entailed Shigure accidentally causing the sofa to catch on fire.

"Hey, didn't our sofa used to be grey?" Miyako asked, catching sight of the black futon sofa that was newly moved into the living room.

"Uh, no, we washed it." I said, covering up her brother's mistake. We had to run out in the middle of the night to fit a random furniture store that was actually open on New Years. It wasn't easy, but we managed to find a new sofa, for a good price.

"Mimi, you're back!" Shigure cried, running out of his office, which doubled as Miyako's bed room.

"You thought you had gotten rid of me eh? Well think again!" She giggled, giving him a hug.

Shigure faked disappointment. "Yeah, I guess luck just isn't on my side today. You wouldn't happen to be here just to grab you things, and cook us food, would you?" He whimpered when his sister punched him in the arm.

"No silly." She laughed. "Why would I make you food?"

We all laughed at this, and then Miyako retreated to the kitchen, to make some rice and udon. Shigure, Yuki, and I then went to our separate rooms, got what we needed, and then raced down to the dining room.

"Hey Mimi, come in here for a second!" Shigure called to his little sibling.

She came out a little skeptic. "What did you do Shishi?"

"Nothing! It's present time!" He smiled, and presented her with his gift first, a small, wrapped present.

Miyako's entire face lit up like nothing I had seen before.

"One second!" She darted out of the room, and we heard rummaging, then she came back with three wrapped presents of her own, and distributed one to each of us.

"Okay, now it's present time! I totally forgot!" She laughed happily.

Shigure faked a horrified look. "Forgot about presents? How could you!"

That got him a good slap on his head from Miyako.

"I'll give you mine last." I said as we all sat down again, and after a formerly whimpering Shigure had decided it was safe to come out of hiding and rejoin us.

First present that was opened, was the one that Shigure was giving to Miyako. Upon opening it, it got the dog a tackling hug from the fox, who seemed delighted by her new digital camera. It was a nice blue color, and must've taken very careful consideration from Shigure, which Miyako realized.

Then the second was the present that Miyako was giving to her older brother. Needless to say, when he saw the remote controlled car that he was getting, he was endlessly ecstatic, and was literally bouncing in his seat until he could play with it. Once a child, always a child.

Then, I opened the present Miyako had given to me. It was a little bigger and a little longer than the rest of them, and when I opened mine, like all the others, I was really, really happy. It was like Miyako just _knew _what to get all of us. I got a long, smelly fish, probably fresh from the fish market, and it was just perfect. It also came with a small note, promising to put this inside rice balls, just for me.

The next gift open was from Yuki to Mimi. When she opened it she gasped. "This is awesome! I guess I didn't even need to steal Ren's!" She joked as I helped her place her new silver necklace around her neck. It had the kanji symbols for "fox" and "Sohma".

Next, was Miyako's gift to Yuki, and once he opened it, one of those rare smiles crossed his face. He showed us a brown canvas bag, inside; numerous amongst of garden equipment was packed inside. I could see his eyes flash in the direction of his "secret base".

And finally, I gave Miyako my present, carefully handing it over to her. It was a smallish box, able to fit into two hands, with the top slightly ajar, but a ribbon tied around it.

She undid the ribbon, and as soon as she did, a small, erect red ear popped out of the top. Her eyes widened and looked up at me. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Maybe" I smirked.

She hurriedly lifted the top, and pulled out the squirming animal. "Where did you find him?" She exclaimed.

"On the road, we all did. But since I caught him and carried him home, that made him mine, and now, he's my gift, to you." I smiled.

Miyako, the girl with the fox's spirit cursed to be forever part of her, was holding a very small fox kit.

"Thank you so, so, so, so, so much Kyokyo!" She ran up to me and jumped on me, giving me an air-robbing hug, careful to avoid squishing the fox.

"What are you going to name him?" Shigure asked.

She thought for only a moment. "Yume." Dream.


	40. Chapter 40

_She thought for only a moment. "Yume." Dreams._

_**Chapter Forty- Shigure's Pov**_

"Goodnight Shishi." I heard Miyako say as I focused on the screen of my computer.

"Goodnight Mimi." I responded, leaning over to get a good look at the bed in front of my desk. I needed to get my little sister her own room soon.

She was cuddled into the fluffy blankets I had laid out for her, her hair streaming behind her on her pillow, and her chin was curled down into the soft fur of her new fox puppy, or kit as they are properly called, Yume.

I had a feeling that Yume would quickly become the number one present that Miyako has ever received, what better way to celebrate the New Year with a new addition to the family. And they looked perfect together too, Yume's red fur matching Miyako's hair exactly. When she had gotten up from the table to wash her hands, leaving the fox behind on her pillow where she had been seated, he got up and wobbled over to her, as quick as his little legs could carry him, and she laughed and carried him back, settling him on her legs.

It was truly as if Mimi had become Yume's new mother, replacing the old one who had been tragically hit and killed by a speeding car on the road we were crossing. Kyo, who saw everything, threw a rock at the car, then raced over to the little fox on the side of the road, crying over his missing mother, and swooped him up into the parka he was wearing.

Yume yawned sleepily in Miyako's arms, and soon, they were both fast asleep, Yume occasionally yapping happily, which was quite an amusing sight. His name, which meant dreams, certainly fit him. But I wondered what had prompted my little sister to name her new companion that?

I returned to my writing for a little while, but then I got bored, and decided to head out into the kitchen, to retrieve, and play with, that little red toy car I had gotten, even though I may have already exhausted the batteries. Oh well, I can always get more.

As I was about to lift the car off the counter, I heard a light knocking at the door. Grumbling, I went to see who it was who had interrupted me before my play time had even begun. I was shocked to see who it was.

Akito stood outside in a black turtleneck and black slacks, just standing there, a car no doubt driven by Hatori parked outside, waiting.

"Hello Shigure. Would you mind giving this to your sister? It's in honor of the New Year." Akito handed me a small package wrapped in black wrapping and tied with a blackish red ribbon, perfectly and utterly Akito style.

"Of course, thank you. Would you like to come in?" I asked, but the god shook his head.

"I'm just stopping by; I have to meet a group of people for a dinner." He said with an irritated tone.

Just as he was turning away, he stopped. "Can you remind her to come back soon?" The want in his voice surprised me, he truly wished for my little sister to come back to Sohma house, to see Akito no less. I guess it did make since, with the truth to the myth of the fox and the god finally being revealed.

"Of course, goodnight Akito." I said, and then, with a slam of the car door, Akito and Hatori were off into the night.

I sighed, shut the door, and then walked over to the study where Miyako slept. Carefully, I put the package down on her pillow, next to her and Yume, and then retreated back into the dining room. Nothing was going to stop me from playing with that car.

The next morning, I was woken by Kyo shaking my shoulder with a foot. "Get up dog!"

I was in the middle of the floor, remote still in hand, the battery light on.

"It seems I need more batteries." I announced, pulling myself tiredly from the floor.

Yuki stumbled down the stairs, falling into Kyo like he did so many mornings before. "I should've gotten you an alarm clock that shoots water! Get off of me!" Kyo yelled at the rat of the zodiac, who gave the rather loud cat a glare.

"Be quiet will you?" Yuki growled, and then slinked into the kitchen.

Just then, I saw a sleepy fox kit stumble into the room, yapping happily, a red ribbon tied around his throat. The same ribbon that had wrapped the package Akito delivered late last night. I guess that means that Miyako had gotten it.

"Mmh." Was Miyako's "good morning" to us all.

"Sleep well Mimi?" I asked.

She looked up through tired eyes. "Why? What did you do? Shigure, did you stay up all night playing with that car?"

"How'd you know that?" I asked wondrously.

"You have the imprint of the remote on your right cheek. I'm going to hide all the batteries in the house during the night, you need sleep!" She rolled her eyes and then headed into the kitchen, grabbing the orange juice and taking a swig.

"Hey, orange juice is for everyone." Shigure sang his reminder.

"Yeah? Well so is the milk and I don't see you telling Kyo he can't drink that." She retorted, and downed another sip, putting it back and then grabbing some inari from the fridge. Yume trotted happily, but not steadily, after her.

Kyo looked at me. "It's true." He pointed out.

I shrugged. It was, no arguing with that.

And as I started after Miyako in the dining room, I began to wonder, what Akito had given her.


	41. Chapter 41

_And as I started after Miyako in the dining room, I began to wonder, what Akito had given her._

_**Chapter Forty-One- Miyako's Pov**_

I had decided to be lazy today, and so I collapsed into my bed, Yume curled at my side, and just reflected, on life. In general, it was looking pretty up. I had my brother back, I had my friends back, I had defeated Ren, and, most importantly, I had met Akito.

Akito, Akito Sohma, the god of all the zodiacs, the fox's master. I brushed against the ribbon I had carefully tied into Yume's fur that morning, reminding me of my newest present.

I reached into my pillowcase, and fingered the small silver circle. It was a ring, a beautiful ring, so delicate. It was made so that on my finger; it would swirl around, just once, and not quite touch at the ends, for in the two ends it held two gemstones. One was a black onyx stone, and the other, a white moonstone. And inside were inscribed the symbols "宮古相馬""Miyako Sohma" it read.

I smiled as I traced the kanji. I had hesitated putting it on however, I don't know why. It's not like it meant anything, right? It was a New Year's gift, just like it said on the little note it came with.

But in the back of my mind, I knew it was a little more than that. Was I actually ready for what it meant? Was I ready to accept what Akito was offering?

The zodiac canines were known, unfortunately, for their commitment issues, especially with certain editors. But we always came through in the end, we were always there, always loyal, always loving.

I remembered Akito, the smoothness of his voice and skin, the kindness in his eyes and smile that only I was truly able to see, the happiness he radiated on the inside, it was all so perfect. He was all so perfect, to me.

And with that, I slipped the ring on. Smiling, I gazed at it, sitting on my finger, embracing it in a silver hug. It was beautiful.

Yume nuzzled me, and I reached down to pet him. He rubbed his head against my ring, entranced by the gleam of the jewels in the gentle light that seeped into the room. He liked it, and if a fox likes it, you always keep it.

I smiled and picked up the small animal watching the rays of sunlight make his fur look so soft at the ends, which it was. It made both of our hair gleam, showing off the unmistakable colors that were mixed into the simple fur and hair.

I truly adored foxes. I often heard Kyo complain about how cat always were crowding him, but whenever a fox comes up to me, I cherish it. Their company, it's just so, so peaceful. The fox is peaceful, and subtly powerful. Their jumpy, prancing, happy ways keep people from thinking about how clever and mysterious these creatures were, the sheer depth that came with the animal's soul.

I loved them, and unlike so many of the other zodiac animals, I love the spirit that is cursed to be forever within me. It makes me feel strong, powerful, and confident. It inspires me to do more with my life than just stay with the monks, or surrender my heart and soul to what Ren did to me. It inspires me to be.

Yume yawned a big yawn, his pink tongue stretching and curling down. I laughed at the pure adorableness that it showed. I snuggled him to my side, curling my arm around his tiny form. I had already fed him some milk and a little bit of fish, he should be set until later tonight, fox kits didn't need to eat as much at this age as they did when they were babies, newborns.

And with that, I drifted to sleep with Yume by my side, the ring on my finger, and good dreams began to invade my mind.

_We were in the meadow, Akito and I. Just lying there, on the grass, just letting the sun soak into our exposed skin. Our hands were joined between our bodies, and we enjoyed the feel of the little contact. A little orange creature leapt up and down in the tall grass, pouncing this way and that, Yume._

"_Beautiful isn't it?" I asked, turning my face to look at the boy next to me._

"_Yes, it's nice to get away from everything isn't it?" He smiled back at me._

_I nodded, and then curled into him, allowing him to drape his arms over my body, embracing me, and I embrace him back._

_And we just lay there; simply lay there, in that warm embrace, savoring the moment._

When I awoke it was beginning to get dark. I looked down at the ring that he gave me, and realized just how much I missed that young man.


	42. Chapter 42

_When I awoke it was beginning to get dark. I looked down at the ring that he gave me, and realized just how much I missed that young man._

_**Chapter Forty-Two- Kyo's Pov**_

It had been almost a week since the banquet, and Miyako had a fever. All week long, which might I add, she was not very happy about. Apparently, being stuck in bed was one of her least favorite places ever to be in.

She had been grumpy towards everyone but Yume and I, and I counted myself very lucky. Shigure was getting the worst of it, and he now rarely entered his study, usually lounging in the living room or eating something or other in the kitchen. Tohru was, of course, trying to make sure that Miyako was alright, but the fox didn't seem to appreciate her help one bit. Which I could understand, if Miyako was anything like me, which time had proven she was, she would hate to show any form of weakness, especially sickness. It's instinctual.

"Hey Mimi." I entered the room with some udon on a tray, some sticky rice with seaweed crumbled on top with it as well.

She looked up. "Hey Kyokyo."

Yume was snuggled into her lap, peacefully dreaming. It seems that was all that fox did, sleep.

"Does he always sleep?" I asked, not one to keep a question to myself.

She shook her head. "No, he just likes the warmth right now. He is still a baby. But he does get up and race around the room, or really "race" around the room. He can't go very fast." She giggled, stroking the little canine. He whimpered happily and snuggled closer into her.

"So, what's happening outside of this little room?" She asked as I put her food down next to her.

I shrugged. "Nothing much, just the usual. Tohru's been more nervous lately, I guess if she can't help someone who's sick, she doesn't know what to do with herself." I joked.

Miyako rolled her eyes.

"Why do you dislike her so much?" I questioned, sitting down against the wall.

She sighed. "No reason, I just don't. She's not my type, I guess."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Are you just going to sit around or are you gonna make sure my brother doesn't do something stupid?" She asked, obviously trying to get the attention off of her.

I sighed, and began to get up, when I saw a glitter of something on her hand.

"What's that?" I asked, coming closer.

"Oh, this? Just a New Year's gift from a friend of mine." She held up her hand to show me a silver ring, with two gem stones intertwined.

"It looks like the yin and yang." I observed.

She looked down at it. "Yeah, I guess it kinda does." The fox smiled.

"Well, I'll go and check on Shigure. Then I'm taking a nap, so if you need anything, you're going to have to ask Tohru.

"Great." She groaned, and then turned back into her pillow.

Exiting, I saw Shigure watching the door wistfully. "Why don't you try it, she might be asleep." I suggested.

Cautiously, the dog trotted to the door, peeked inside, and getting no reaction or yelling, he went completely inside, but left the door open for a hasty retreat. Just as he was about to sit down at his desk, Yume chose this time to wake up, see him, and start barking excitedly. This woke Miyako, who glared at Shigure, a glare that meant "you have three seconds to get out and leave me alone" and quick as anything I have ever seen, Shigure whistled past me, just after asking me "Why did we ever get her a puppy?"

Poor guy.

And then, I went upstairs to the roof and took a nap.

When I woke up, the sun was setting, creating a mix of beautiful pastel colors. If it hadn't been for the growling of my stomach, I may have actually stayed and watched. But instead, I went downstairs to join everyone else for dinner.

To my, and everybody else's, surprise, Miyako was sitting at the table as well, apparently feeling better. Yume was tottering around her, playing with the ends of Shigure's kimono.

And then, Tohru said something that completely shocked all of us in return.

"I want to go and see Akito."


	43. Chapter 43

"_I want to go and see Akito."_

_**Chapter Forty-Three- Shigure's Pov**_

We all looked at Tohru.

"I didn't think Akito liked you." Miyako pointed out.

"He doesn't." Kyo growled.

I sighed. Tohru would never stop until she successfully changed that boy, and I don't think she realized that Akito can't be changed. And if he can, it isn't going to be by her.

"Tohru, do you remember what happened the last time you did that?" Yuki referred to when Akito grabbed the girl's hair and yelled at her. That encounter had indeed ended badly for both.

"I just want to try it again, Akito seemed nicer at the banquet, you said that yourself Shigure-san." She commented. Using my own words against me, she could be tricky when she wanted to be.

"Alright, I'll call, but don't expect an immediate answer." I resolved.

And unfortunately, Hatori gave us the immediate answer of yes. That very day, in fact, we were to go and visit the main house.

"Great, just great." Kyo glared around.

Miyako seemed uncaring; she was playing with Yume on the floor, a string dangling from her fingers which the little fox was pouncing on.

Yuki was simply looking nervous; he didn't want to go any more than the rest of us did. And Tohru, was looking excited, obviously pleased.

I sighed once again; it seems I had been doing that all day. "Well, let's get going, Akito wouldn't take kindly if we were late."

And then, all of us went to prepare, get dressed, things like that.

Miyako was the first ready. She was lounging in the living room when I came down. She was dressed in black cargo pants, and a black shirt. Tucked into her arms was little Yume, with that ribbon tied around his neck. She looked up as I walked in.

"You ready?" She asked.

I nodded heavily.

"What's wrong?" She asked, concerned.

"Nothing, it just seems that Tohru is trying to, fix, Akito. And I don't think that she'll be able to do that." I answered.

"She won't." Miyako answered so surely that I had to look at her.

"What do you mean 'she won't'?" I asked.

"Akito isn't going to be changed. He doesn't need to be. He just needs to be exposed a little more, he needs to let everything go, everything out. He has become so good at hiding his emotions, his happiness, and showing his anger. All he needs is someone to show him that showing these emotions isn't a weakness. He needs to be shown that they can help him, in a leadership role as well as a health role. And Tohru isn't going to be that person, she can't be. This is because she pities Akito, and Akito certainly doesn't need or want pity." She held Yume close to her, gently kissing the top of his head.

"How do you know that?" I said.

"Because, I had to go through what he is going through. I had to show weakness to become happy; this is what a few of my monk friends taught me. One could be the strongest, toughest, richest, and most powerful person alive, and still not be happy. To be happy takes certain sacrifices, it takes work, it takes a certain level of exposure, surrender, and of course, weakness. And Akito needs to see this."

I studied her young, beautiful features, her red hair, her chocolate eyes, and somehow knew, that my little sister, was wiser than her physical appearance and age could ever let on. She was wiser than her playfulness would ever show. Just like the fox.

Tohru and Yuki came down together. "We're ready." Yuki announced.

We nodded. "Where's Kyo?" I asked.

"On the roof, he'll meet us outside." Miyako automatically responded.

"How did you know that?" Yuki asked.

Miyako shrugged. "Where else would a cat be at a time like this? Where he feels most comfortable, which is heights, which is the roof."

And sure enough, as soon as we stepped outside, Kyo landed swiftly and easily on his feet in front of us, jumping down from where he had been sitting.

"Are you ready?" He asked, mainly Tohru.

She nodded, we all did. And then we set off, walking down the street towards the Sohma house, towards Akito.


	44. Chapter 44

_She nodded, we all did. And then we set off, walking down the street towards the Sohma house, towards Akito._

_**Chapter Forty-Four- Kyo's Pov**_

We were walking down the sidewalk, when suddenly, Miyako stopped. As she was in the front, leading the way quite happily, we all stopped.

We were in front of a larger shop, and Miyako was staring at the window. "I'm going to go in here for a little; I need to get something for Yume!" She said, and started for the door.

"But, wait" Shigure began.

"Don't worry, I'll catch up! I do know where it is." She smiled, waved, and then darted inside.

I looked at Shigure, who merely sighed, shook his head, and then started off again.

Soon, we reached the gate of the Sohma family land, which Momiji was sitting on top of happily. Upon noticing us, he leapt down.

"Tohru, what are you guys doing here?" He asked with a wide smile.

"We're here to see Akito, Tohru wanted an audience." Shigure answered jokingly.

Momiji flinched. "Oh, well, good luck. He's been in a bad mood the last few days, ever since two days after the banquet."

Not a good sign.

"We could turn around." I suggested as we entered, waving goodbye to the rabbit.

But Tohru was determined.

I guess all I could do was follow her, offer any sort of protection and support I could.

And soon enough, we were facing the paper door that led into Akito's rooms, led there by a somewhat nervous looking maid. I guess the god really was in a bad mood, I wonder what caused it.

Cautiously, we creaked open the door to find Akito as he always was, lying in the door frame, looking out over his garden. His kimono seemed looser than usual, and he seemed paler, he must be sick.

"Hello Akito." Shigure greeted.

Akito didn't glance over, didn't even flinch.

"Hello Akito." He repeated.

This time, the god sighed heavily and lifted himself to a sitting position, where he was still leaning against the door frame on the other side of the room. The simple movement seemed to take a lot of his strength. Maybe Tohru would be safe today. But then again, Akito has been known for his surprises.

"Hello Ms. Honda, Kyo, Yuki, Shigure. What brings you here?" Akito's tone portrayed nothing; it was flat, and weak.

"Tohru wanted to speak with you." I answered.

"Of course, why else would you come and visit? What is it you want now Ms. Honda?" Akito's eyes wandered back out across the garden.

"I don't, don't want anything. I just came to see how, how you were?" Tohru stuttered nervously. This seemed to bring a flicker of irritation out into Akito's eyes.

Uh oh.

"You pity me Tohru. Why is that? What have I ever done to deserve that pity, that worry? I have done nothing, nothing at all. And that is what puzzles me. Do you automatically try to take everything that appears weak under your wing?" Akito glared at her.

"N-no, that's not it, I promise. It's just,"

"Just what? You just care about the one person who made your precious Yuki's life miserable? Who made that idiotic cat be cast out even more from the circle of the zodiacs? Yes, I'm so sure that it just that. Let me tell you something, it's very important. Come closer so you don't miss anything." He gestured with his hand.

And naively, Tohru crawled within arm's reach of the irritated god.

That's all it took. Akito grabbed her by her hair painfully, and yanked her towards him. "See Tohru? I'm not weak at all. I still have a little strength left in me, just for you, just to make sure that you can still feel that pain that I need you to feel, so that you can feel the pain of every single one of our existences. You pity us? Well then, you won't mind sharing the pain then, will you?" He stood up, yanking her with him, and then threw her across the room.

Despite his demonstration of strength, I could see his face, the sweat, the strain. He wasn't going to keep it up for long, or physically it would be too much for him. But if Akito had something to prove, then he would do anything that I knew. Yuki and Shigure knew it too, and they leapt at Akito, holding him back from the whimpering girl.

"But I do pity you Akito, I feel bad for all of you. You're all cursed to never get close to anyone, never feel anything but emptiness, always forced to be apart. You didn't ask for it, you didn't ask to be so ill all the time. It was just forced upon you, you couldn't help that." Tohru began.

Seriously, not helping, I could actually see Akito's eye twitch as he was held back by the two zodiacs.

"I just want to help, I want to try to make things better, and I want to end this curse. I want to free all of you; I want all of you to feel how it is to be close to others. I want you to live Akito, so that you can feel the closeness too." Tears ran down her cheeks.

Akito had stopped struggling, and had let him be held. Taking this into account, Yuki and Shigure let him go.

And he just stood there, looking at the crying girl in front of him. And then, he pounced.

He hit her, hard, right on her face, pulling it up for a good angle by the hair.

"Moving." He sneered.

And then, just as he was going for another hit, before Yuki or Shigure, or myself even, could reach him, he stopped. He just, stopped. In mid air, he just remained absolutely motionless.

"Stop it Akito." The voice came again, repeating the sentence that had made Akito halt in the first place. He stared.

He just stared, at the door. And then, I too turned to see what he was looking at.

Then, she moved further in, until she reached Akito. Carefully, she out her own hand over Akito's fist, and lowered it. It was Miyako.


	45. Chapter 45

_Then, she moved further in, until she reached Akito. Carefully, she out her own hand over Akito's fist, and lowered it. It was Miyako._

_**Chapter Forty-Five- Shigure's Pov**_

Never had I seen Akito instantly calmed, just by one single person. But my little sister did it, just by asking him to stop, he stopped. Never had I seen Akito look, almost, guilty? No not quite, just, sad.

"I didn't think you were coming back." He said to her.

"Of course I was. You had insurance on me didn't you?" She laughed, and Akito smiled. Smiled!

"I think I still do." Akito responded.

Miyako smiled widely. Then she looked down at Tohru, who was curled up in a ball, tears still coming down her cheeks. "What's wrong with you? It couldn't have hurt that bad." Miyako asked, pulling her up. She was right, there was no bruise, no nothing that lasted on Tohru's face from Akito's hit, although her head may be a little sore from the hair pulling. I guess he really was suffering.

Kyo walked up and supported Tohru, leading her outside with one last glance towards Miyako. Yuki was soon to follow, leaving me with the two of them.

"Well, that was interesting. You've got to work on that temper of yours; it'll be the death of you." I told Akito as Miyako helped him sit back down in his door.

"I'm already headed in that direction, what's the difference of a few years or so?" Akito looked out over his garden once again. He looked, frailer than usual, and Miyako noticed.

"You haven't been eating enough." She accused him.

He shrugged. "The food isn't very good when I'm sick; they believe that feeding me tasteless mush will help me to the road of recovery."

Miyako smiled. "I'll pick you up something at the store. How does inari and some red bean cakes sound? I can get some sticky rice as well, that is always good for sickness." Akito smiled and nodded.

"That sounds perfect."

To tell you honestly, I had truly never seen Akito this happy before, ever. It was as if when Miyako entered the room, she brought with her a light and light that lit Akito's light, and made him glow. And I would know for she did it to me all the time. Miyako's light could make anyone feel better, make anyone feel happy. And that was when I knew that what Miyako had said was true. It wouldn't be Tohru that would change Akito's ways. It would be her. It would be the fox.

"I'll be back soon! Promise!" She called as we walked out of his rooms, the last sight I saw was Akito lying back, peacefully basking in the sun, a soft smile gracing his features.

We walked down towards the stores. "Will you be staying with him?" I asked, already knowing the answer she wanted.

"I would like to look after him, he needs to eat if he's going to get better any time soon. But is that all right? I mean, Tohru was shaken up, what if she's not able to make you your meals, or keep you from doing anything stupid, or"

"We'll be fine. Don't worry, alright? You're my little sister, not my mother. Besides, we survived without you and Tohru for a couple years. I'm sure we could survive without you for a week or two." I smiled, placing an arm around her shoulders.

She placed an arm around my waist and leaned into me. And that's the way we walked, all the way to the store.

As we were exiting, I saw fish, reminding me of one thing. "What about Yume? You'll need him, I don't know how to take care of a baby fox, do you want me to" But she cut me off, pulling a small backpack off her shoulders.

She unzipped the bag, and two little red ears popped out, followed by an orange and white snout. Yume was nestled happily in Miyako's bag, with a new leather collar around his neck.

"I brought him along, couldn't have him tearing everything up at home. I guess it worked out perfectly didn't it?" She giggled as the fox tried to snatch one of the fish that was about three feet away. Dream big he does.

We laughed together a ways, and finally, we reached the tall gate once again. I hadn't noticed last time, but it appeared that Momiji had moved on, no doubt to Hatori's quarters. Even though Hatori pretended that Momiji was a handful for him, the doctor was more attached to the boy than he would willfully admit. It was as if the rabbit was the dragon's own son.

"So you sure you'll be alright?" She asked for the hundredth time.

"Yes Mimi, I'm more worried about you. What if Ren finds out you're staying with Akito? She won't like that one bit." I reminded her.

She shrugged. "I can take care of myself; I'm a big girl now. Why else do you think Ren sent me to the mountains to live with old bald guys?"

And with that, she gave me a hug, and ran inside to join Akito.

It truly was the fox and the god story. They truly were bonded by friendship. And maybe, just maybe, something a little more.


	46. Chapter 46

_It truly was the fox and the god story. They truly were bonded by friendship. And maybe, just maybe, something a little more._

_**Chapter Forty-Six- Miyako's Pov**_

I watched as Shigure sighed, and then disappeared from the gate from inside the house. I was really going to stay here, looking after Akito. But would he appreciate it? What if he got tired of me? What if he decided that he actually hates me?

But then, the ring on my finger reminded me of the insurance he had given me just a few days back.

Smiling happily, I trotted down the hall, stopping in front of Akito's door. First thing, I let Yume out of the bag I had trapped him in all morning, and then I sifted through the plastic grocery bag, making sure everything was there. When I saw it was, I pushed open the door, letting little Yume dart in.

"I'm back!" I sang happily, and Akito turned just in time to see a small little fox launch itself at him, and start to lick his hands. I laughed and put down the food, then went and swooped Yume up off of Akito, who didn't seem to mind the little surprise, and lay him down on the now empty backpack, where he promptly feel asleep.

"Here, I brought you inari and some pink red bean cakes!" I said, setting the food down on the small, low table that was resting in the corner of the large room.

Akito, with some obvious difficulty, lifted himself off the floor and slunk towards the table. I didn't get up to help him though; I wouldn't appreciate someone doing that to me when I was weak, when I was being incredibly vulnerable.

"Why pink?" He asked, looking at the cakes.

I shrugged. "I like the pink ones the best. If you don't like them I can go and"

He shook his head. "They're my favorite as well; I was just wondering why you decided to pick them." Akito smiled reassuringly.

I breathed a sigh of relief and returned the smile. I could already feel this was going to be a good week.

"So did you like your New Year's gift?" Akito asked once we had finished our food, which by the way, was really, really good.

I nodded readily, and showed him my hand. "I love it! It's so beautiful!"

Akito's eyes brightened and I could almost feel him getting happier, like a weight had been lifted off him.

"I'm glad. Who was that anyways?" Akito gestured to the still sleeping Yume.

"Oh, him, that's Yume. It was Kyo's New Year's present to me; they found him while walking home on the side of the road. Isn't he adorable?" I smiled, reaching over and stroking his fiery fur.

"I find all foxes adorable, and also quite beautiful." Akito commented. I smiled when I realized that he meant _all _foxes.

We then walked over to the door and Akito sat down. I did the same, looking out at the garden. To me, it was absolutely beautiful, but did it ever get tiring?

"Does it ever get boring staring at this garden every day?" I asked, looking over at the young man who was lounging in the door frame, like a leopard in his tree.

He let out a sigh. "You get used to staring at the same thing every day."

I looked at him. "You _never _go out?"

"For business, I often meet people at restaurants to discuss money, and sometimes I go to see the other zodiacs to check on them." He attempted.

"That's not going out. Do you ever have, I don't know, fun?"

He shook his head. "I don't need to have fun, I don't have time. I'm the god, it's my job to look over the others, not have fun."

I raised an eyebrow. "That's a pathetic excuse. Once you feel better, we're going to go to a movie together."

Akito's forehead crinkled together. "What's a movie?"

I shook my head sadly. "I have so much to teach you."

He smiled.

"Sir, Ren wishes to see you." A maid appeared in the door.

Akito looked towards me, then to the maid, and got up. "I'll be back eventually."

I nodded, and watched as he left, his kimono trail eventually disappearing behind the screen door.

I looked towards the sleeping Yume.

"Guess it's just you and me for now."

_**Author's Note: **_I hope you've been enjoying, I'm trying to get as much in as I can! Please, read and review, reviews make me so happy!


	47. Chapter 47

"_Guess it's just you and me for now."_

_**Chapter Forty-Seven- Miyako's Pov**_

For once, I didn't dream. It was just black, like a blank slate, nothing there but blackness and darkness. But it wasn't a frightening kind of dark blackness. It wasn't the lonely, cold kind. It was the warm, comforting closeness that you feel when you're in a hug, so close to warmth and heat. I felt so, comfortable.

That is, until I felt myself being licked by a warm, scratchy tongue.

"What is it Yume?" I groaned. It was just beginning to become light out.

Yume ran in a circle, trying to get me to understand something. I could talk to foxes, just as all other zodiac cursed people could talk to their animals, but Yume was too young to know how to talk yet, he was basically a young human toddler, but, thankfully, without any diapers.

"You better have a good reason for waking me up." I growled slightly in irritation. Mornings weren't my things; I had made a point of never wanting to see a sunrise in my life. But I guess now I was going to.

Yume jumped onto Akito's empty bed.

"Yume, get off of there. Akito sleeps there." Wait, empty bed?

Akito hadn't come back yet, he should be back by now. What if something had happened to him?

"Stay here Yume, I'll be back soon, I promise." I tucked him into the pile of blankets on my bed, and darted out into the rest of the house, to search for the god.

But I couldn't find a trace. Where had he said he was going? To see Ren, that's right. I would check her quarters first.

Remembering that she doesn't, and shouldn't know that I was there, I snuck up on to the roof, and from there I proceeded to the back of the house, where I knew Ren lived. Carefully, I reached my destination, and sat down on the roof, listening.

I could hear not so quiet voices having a not so quiet conversation below. But it seems I had come only at the end of it.

"You'll leave her alone." Akito demanded.

"Who are you to stop me?" Ren argued back.

"Your son and the god of all the zodiacs, sometimes I think you forget the power I hold, even over you."

Ren snorted. "As if you could do anything but kick and scream your way to the top. What happens when they all leave you, it's bound to happen someday. Even your precious little fox will abandon you soon, and then you'll be all alone. Not that that stupid little girl is good company anyways, when I knew her she wouldn't speak, much less give me advice on anything, a rather useless waste of the curse."

I heard a thump and looked down to see Akito holding his mother by the throat. "Miyako isn't a waste of the curse; she isn't a waste of anything. Nor is she stupid, or good for nothing. She is smart, careful, caring, and she, will, never, leave me." Akito spelled out that last bit.

"Yeah, just you wait. You'll get your heart set on that red haired brat and then she'll leave you behind. She's only staying a week, you said so yourself. Do you honestly think she'll come back after seeing you exhibit such weakness? No girl wants someone who is too weak to provide for her, that is to ignorant to see the truth in people." Ren sneered even as she was obviously lacking breath.

"You know what; I think you're just jealous of her. I think you're jealous that your plan failed all those years ago to pin the blame on the fox that she has more love than any other cursed creature and that she entered into the curse willingly, unlike you, unlike all the rest of us." Akito smirked.

And for once, Ren was lost for words, lost for breath, and lost for consciousness.

Akito simply let her crumple to the ground, and began to walk away. When he was out of sight from his mother's quarters, I jumped down from the roof, landing in front of him.

"Are you okay?" I asked, concerned.

He wouldn't meet my gaze, and soon, I realized why. Tears were trickling down his cheeks. Akito wouldn't let himself show any weakness, even to me. And I wanted to change that.

I opened my arms and tackled him with a hug, which he accepted gratefully, wrapping his own arms around my waist. We just stood there, wrapped around each other, finding comfort in each other's warmth. I felt Akito's steady breath, accompanied by cold tears that slipped off his own skin, and on to mine. But I didn't mind.

A cold breeze washed over us, and I nestled tighter into Akito's body, and he held me a little tighter.

"Come on, let's get inside. I don't want you to get sicker than you already are." I said, regretfully pulling myself away, but keeping a hand clasped with his.

He nodded, and followed me towards the room we were sharing.

As soon as I got in, the chill of the room overwhelmed me. Lucky Yume was all warm in his own little pile of blankets, meanwhile, I was freezing. But then, in the midst of shivering, I felt Akito's arms wrap around me, and pull me to a sitting position, landing me just a little in front of his body. I leaned back into his chest, and we sat that way. We just sat there, happiness shining, expelling any cold that could be left inside the room.


	48. Chapter 48

_As soon as I got in, the chill of the room overwhelmed me. Lucky Yume was all warm in his own little pile of blankets, meanwhile, I was freezing. But then, in the midst of shivering, I felt Akito's arms wrap around me, and pull me to a sitting position, landing me just a little in front of his body. I leaned back into his chest, and we sat that way. We just sat there, happiness shining, expelling any cold that could be left inside the room._

_**Chapter Forty-Eight- Miyako's Pov**_

That evening, Akito went to bed early. He was looking paler than usual, and I knew he must not be feeling well, or at least, he felt worse than before.

So I was left to wander the empty halls of Sohma house, Yume walking a little more steadily on his feet next to me. And I knew exactly who I was looking for, whom else? I hardly knew anyone except for these two.

"Hatori?" I called, peeking my head into the doctor's room.

Later I would go to find Ayame, but for now, I wanted to see the dragon.

I saw his dark hair come around the corner, and then there he was, clad in his white jacket, smoking a cigarette outside.

"Oh, hello Miyako, I didn't know you were here in the Sohma house." He gave one of his rare, small smiles.

"Yeah, only a few people do. I just got here yesterday." I answered, walking over and sitting down on the porch with him.

"Not that I don't want you here, but I am curious why you're here."

I shrugged. "Akito's not feeling well so I volunteered to bring him some good food and look after him for a while." Hatori nodded, understanding coming over his face.

"So that's why Akito hasn't complained about feeling ill recently to me. Usually, at the slightest headache, he's yelling for me. And those happen quite often. I must admit, I think you should stick around more often." He gave a relieved sigh.

I laughed. "You want me to stay because it gives you less work, not because you enjoy my company?"

Hatori looked up with a smile. "You know I don't mean that." He said, messing up my hair with his hand, like he had when I was little.

I smiled up at him.

"So how's life been treating you when I was gone?" I asked after a little while.

He sighed. "It could've been better, but everything looks like it's going to work out from now on. So why dwell too much on the past? I should just forget it all."

I looked at him. "True, but if you simply forget the past, the present is without meaning. Think about it, if you overcame hardship in the past, you raised from living in poverty, to the present as the king of England, you would want to remember the past life you had as a poor man. Not only will it affect your judgment and how you rule, but it will show yourself how far you have come, and what you're capable of doing."

"You've gotten wiser; the monks must've worn off on you." Hatori commented, nodding.

"Yeah, I've been getting these nearly uncontrollable urges to shave my head and wear a bath robe all day long and out in public." I said.

We laughed together.

"Well, you'd better get back to Akito; he'll be waking up soon." Hatori said after we talked for a good half an hour.

"How'd you know that?" I asked.

"Doctor's instincts." He smiled, and waved as I left.

And sure enough, as soon as I got inside the room, Akito's eyes fluttered open.

"Hey Akito, welcome back." I joked as I helped him sit up.

"Mmh." He grunted.

"Anything you need?" I asked.

"Some water would be nice." He croaked out.

I went to get the glass of water that forever occupied the table. The maids refilled it, and replaced it every day, or every time it was emptied.

"Ah, thank you." Akito said after he sipped a little.

"You're gonna have to drink more than that if you want to get any better any time soon." I argued and gave him back the glass.

"Do I have to?" He groaned.

I nodded. "Yep!"

He glared for a little while, but then proceeded to drink. "Good boy." I patted his head, and took the glass away once it was emptied.

He still glared, but I could tell he felt a little better. Drinking water always helped, no matter what.

"Where's Yume?" I asked, glancing around for the troublesome little animal.

Akito smiled and lifted the edge of his blanket up. There, cuddled into the sick boy's side, was the little fox. His puffy tail was curled over his eyes, effectively blocking out any light and his ears were slanted back onto his head peacefully.

"Aw, cute!" I smiled, and then took out my little blue camera.

"May I?" I questioned. Akito nodded.

And then, I took my first picture. It was perfect, Akito was gently smiling, and my little fox puppy was happily napping.

"Thanks!" I sighed, and put the camera back into my baggy pocket.

"No problem." He answered. And I know he meant it.


	49. Chapter 49

"_No problem." He answered. And I know he meant it._

_**Chapter Forty-Nine- Miyako's Pov**_

The week passed in a hurry, it blew my mind. Even though all Akito and I did was lounge around, talk, laugh, and take the occasional picture, the week went by so quickly. And before he or I knew it, a maid was knocking on the door telling us that Shigure was here to pick me up.

"Do you really have to leave so soon?" Akito asked as he helped me get my bag together. The very little color he had had returned to his cheeks, and he was now a little stronger. Not strong, but stronger.

He could now take care of himself.

"Yeah, I can only leave all of them for a certain amount of time before Shigure gets in to too much trouble." I smiled sadly.

He sighed. "But you'll come back won't you?"

I could see the nervousness in his eyes.

"Of course silly, why wouldn't I?" I smiled widely, reassuring him.

He let out the breath I didn't realize he had been holding.

"Good."

We stared at each other for a little bit, but then Yume's barking snapped us out of it. "Okay, okay, we're going, hold on for a little while!" I rubbed his fur, and flipped him on to his stomach.

"Alright, I'll see you later!" I said, getting up.

And this time, Akito didn't give me a good-bye kiss. I gave him one.

As I pulled away I said, "Insurance, and don't forget about that movie."

He smiled, nodding, and then watched me retreat over to the fence.

"Bye Akito!" I called, waving over to him, and he returned the wave. And then, I disappeared out the gate, into the waiting arms of my brother.

"Mimi!" He cried, picking me up and twirling me around.

"Hey Shishi, miss me?" I laughed. But inside, I wasn't laughing, I wasn't smiling. I felt as if I had just been ripped away, ripped away from something that I had been bonded to. And in a way, I had been.

I guess the bond was stronger than I thought.

"Come on, let's head home, Kyo's been counting down the days until you came back!" Shigure sang, and then pulled me down the street, away from the house I had begun to love, away from Akito.

Away from everything that had become mine. Before this week I knew, without a doubt, that with my family was where I belonged, with Shigure and the others, but now, I was beginning to question that. Perhaps, I did indeed belong next to the god, my god, my master. The fox was supposed to sit under his throne, was she not? She was supposed to help him get through.

But now, it was too late, I was already in front of Shigure's house. Besides, I could always go back. I was going to go back. Soon.

And then, I spotted Kyo, who was keeping a close watch on top of the roof. Upon seeing me, he leapt down, and swooped me into a hug, which shocked me because normally, Kyo wasn't one for hugs.

"You're back! Finally! I can't believe you left me with him!" He pointed to my brother.

I shrugged. "Sorry."

"Welcome back Miyako, did you enjoy your stay?" Yuki asked, coming outside with Tohru following close behind.

I nodded. "It was great! The Sohma house is really nice, and I got to spend time with Hatori, and Ayame, and Akito!"

Shigure chuckled. "Remind me to apologize to poor Hatori later. Was Aaya excited to see you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Excited doesn't quite cover it. He finally had someone who could keep up with him, and that got him way to happy."

Yuki laughed.

"It's not funny!" I argued.

"It's only funny because I can see you and my brother getting along so well, annoying Hatori out of his mind, along with the rest of the household. He didn't make you tag along to his shop did he?" Yuki asked.

I shook my head. "I had to stay with Akito most of the day."

Kyo rolled his eyes. "Can't he take care of himself?"

"Not this time Kyokyo, he was really sick. Besides, he's nice if you're on his good side." I explained.

"And you're on his good side?" Kyo laughed.

"Yeah, I am." I smiled, and then felt a little movement in my backpack.

Sighing, I picked Yume up out of the bag, and set him down on the ground, where he proceeded to run about, quite happily. He had gotten much steadier on his feet, and much quicker. He was about to turn into quite a handful.

"Yume got big!" Kyo and Shigure noted.

I nodded. "The Sohma's loved him, and he loved them. I don't think I've seen a happier fox, with all those people to play with. He took a special liking to Hatsuharu and Akito."

"Really? The cow? I never would've guessed. How'd Akito like Yume?" Shigure asked.

I grinned. "They got along really well, they made an adorable couple. Since Akito was in bed most of the time, Yume just cuddled up and slept which is something that he happens to be fairly good at."

Shigure smiled, imagining the image of the powerful god sleeping with the little tiny fox kit.

"Lunch is ready everyone!" Tohru said happily, and we all went inside to eat.


	50. Chapter 50

"_Lunch is ready everyone!" Tohru said happily, and we all went inside to eat._

_**Chapter Fifty (yay!)- Shigure's Pov**_

I had picked Miyako up from the Sohma house three days ago, and since then, I had noticed something was off about her. She still smiled, still laughed, still teased Kyo, still kept a careful eye on me, but it was all, empty. Miyako was empty. That light that always seemed to spill out of her, had faded, and faded, and soon, it disappeared all together. It had just vanished, in just three days.

She spent a lot of time outside, running the boundaries of the property, which was what first told me that something was wrong. She also had a couple hours woven into her days when she would simply disappear; I suspected she burrowed underneath the porch somewhere in a dark corner.

I couldn't tell if the others noticed anything, but they hadn't known Miyako as long as I had. That and she was my little sister. We had a bond together, a blood bond as well as an emotional bond. When she felt sad, I could almost feel some part of me fade. And it had been fading quite rapidly recently. I was afraid the little light I still held on to that occasionally slipped out of her, when she was playing with her fox, or when she was studying something on her camera, would vanish, just like she had.

To say I was worried would be an understatement of the highest degree. But I couldn't do anything; I didn't know what was wrong. And when I asked her, her automatic response was "I'm just a little tired" or "I'm fine".

Yume knew that something was off too. He spent a lot of time trying to get her to laugh, purposefully doing funny and endearing little acts, that sometimes worked, and sometimes didn't. I knew that he had felt the light fade, just like I had.

And then, one day, I decided to find out for myself. I was in the study, working on my book, when she announced she was going on a run, and that she would be back in an hour or two, and to look after Yume for her. The fox whined, but the laid down and went to sleep.

I nodded, and as soon as I heard the screen door close that lead outside, I got up and made my way over to her bed, where her blue camera lay, as if begging me to peek into its contents and discover what was wrong with my little sister.

And that's what I did. I carefully picked it up, and made my way back over to my chair. Settling in, I removed the memory chip and gently inserted it into my computer. Then a message popped up "transfer files" or "view pictures" it asked. I clicked on the option to view, I didn't want to remove them from the chip, keeping my snooping a secret was key to pulling this whole thing off.

Then, pictures popped up onto the desktop screen. What was there made everything that was happening that had happened, make perfect sense. No longer did I wonder why Miyako seemed so detached, or why she seemed to lose her light in the three days she had been here.

The pictures were very well taken, I was impressed by them, I assumed it was my sister's first time with a camera, and she captured the scenes she was trying to capture very well, getting excellent views, and including all the detail, capturing them in the very little light that Akito's dark room provided.

The very first picture that popped up was of Akito and Yume. Yume was tucked into Akito's side, cuddling into his thin stomach. Akito had a small smile on his face, his black hair falling over most of his face, but I could see how sickly he still looked. Yet, he still managed a smile, just for my little sister.

The next was of Yume playing with Akito's kimono, picking up the ends in his mouth, and Akito still gently smiling down at the little kit. Miyako had taken this picture on a different day, not only did Akito look a little better, but it was a little lighter outside, causing the light to bounce off of the red fur of the fox and make Akito's hair shine a dark light.

I opened the next to see it was a picture of Hatori, Ayame, and Miyako. It was at an angle that showed it had been taken by my sister, but it still captured well. She was leaning against Ayame, her red hair contrasting against the snake's long white hair, and Hatori was sitting close to Ayame for the picture I assumed, and was exhibiting a small little smile. Ayame and Miyako were grinning widely, and Miyako was holding up her fingers in a peace sign.

And then the next was again of Akito, but this time, it was only the god in the picture. He was sitting against the frame of the door that led out into his small peaceful garden. He was looking at the camera, smiling a small little smile, but a truthfully happy one. A small white bird rested on his hand, and his legs were leaning against the other side of the door. He looked so, calm. Not a speck of unhappiness or cruelty showed in his dark eyes, no nervousness, and no need to control, just a peaceful look, and a small little smile. Akito was actually, happy.

I flipped through the next ones, they were all like the ones before, all of the zodiacs, people that I hadn't seen so happy in a while, like Hatsuharu, were smiling happily next to others, or holding Yume in their arms, letting him play with their clothing or hair. She even managed to capture a happy and smiling Hiro next to an equally happy Kisa, both holding ice cream cones in their hands, looking up at the camera.

But there were two that really captured my attention, half because they were beautifully captured picture, with excellent light and background choice, and half because I was Miyako's big brother.

I looked at the first one that appeared. It was another that was taken by Miyako of her with someone, but this time, she was with Akito. They were sitting against the paper screen door that led to the garden; Akito obviously still didn't have enough strength to move anywhere else. They were both sitting down, Akito had Miyako nestled in his lap, and she was leaning happily against his chest, looking up at him. He looked happily down at her as well, their faces merely inches away from each other, their eyes steadily meeting. She was wearing a simple black and red kimono that went beautifully with Akito's own regular kimono. They were just sitting there, peaceful. I had never seen such a peacefully happy expression on Akito's face as he expressed in this picture.

The next one was obviously taken right after the first one, the same setting and the same angle. But this time, Miyako and Akito had moved slightly, closer. Their lips were gently meeting in a sweet kiss, their eyes closed, and a smile spread over each of their faces. Akito had his arms gently wrapped around Miyako's waist, and her one arm that wasn't holding the camera was pressed into his hair.

And that's when everything really, and truly, made sense. I understood why her light had faded so much, why she was so distant. It was because she had left it with Akito, with the others at the Sohma house. And I also came to a sad realization, but despite that, I continued to flip through the pictures.

The next one that appeared was of Hatori once again, but this time, he had a smiling Momiji on his back, giving him a ride. This shocked me so much, that my jaw actually dropped open. This was a side that I had never seen to the doctor, I knew that he was attached to Momiji more than he showed, but I had never seen him actually willingly give the little rabbit any endearing contact. They looked like a father and son, having fun together in the sun lit porch that was right outside of Hatori's quarters.

The others all were of smiling faces, of happy scenes, of Akito gradually regaining a little color into his face. There was one with Akito eating a pink red bean cake, a little bit of the powdered sugar sticking to his lip, which both Miyako and Akito knew about, and Akito was giving a humorous little smile as his picture was taken. He looked finally like the teenager he was, he was enjoying life, having fun, being happy. And it was all because of Miyako.

I ejected the memory chip, and slipped it back inside of the small blue camera, and then replaced it on her pillow, where it had been left. Yume gently licked my hands, and I picked him up, cuddling him to my chest as I went back to my desk.

I then sat down, and began to think. I thought about all those pictures I had seen, all the smiling faces, the little kiss between Miyako and Akito, the happiness that Akito was finally able to show to my little sister, the interactions that Miyako seemed to bring together. I thought about how much her light had faded, how empty her smiles and laughter now seemed, how vacant she seemed to be. And I reached a conclusion. It was a hard conclusion, it was a sad conclusion, but inside, I knew that I had known it all along.


	51. Chapter 51

_I then sat down, and began to think. I thought about all those pictures I had seen, all the smiling faces, the little kiss between Miyako and Akito, the happiness that Akito was finally able to show to my little sister, the interactions that Miyako seemed to bring together. I thought about how much her light had faded, how empty her smiles and laughter now seemed, how vacant she seemed to be. And I reached a conclusion. It was a hard conclusion, it was a sad conclusion, but inside, I knew that I had known it all along._

_**Chapter Fifty-One- Kyo's Pov**_

Shigure emerged from his study, with a somewhat vacant look in his eyes. That worried me. I had been worrying a lot more lately, something was just making me nervous, and it made me even more nervous that I couldn't locate what was wrong.

"What's wrong with you dog?" I asked. Shigure's head snapped towards me, finally his eyes refocusing into the current world.

"Hmm? Just thinking, I guess I got pretty deep into it." He laughed sheepishly. But I could tell there was something more to it, and normally I wouldn't care what was wrong with Shigure, but these past three days, something had been off as I said before, and if this was my chance to determine what it was, I was going to take it.

"Thinking about what?" I pried. Shigure sighed.

"I'm not too sure myself." He took a deep breath, and let it out again. Something was obviously bothering the dog, but it looked like I wasn't going to get any more out of him. So instead, I went up to the roof. It made sense; it was the place I felt the most comforted, especially now that I felt so on the edge.

As soon as I got up there, I saw Miyako running around the perimeter of our property. Something was bothering her as well; I wonder what it could,

And then, suddenly, it all made sense. It was Miyako who was bothering me. Not bothering me, but something was bothering her, which was worrying me, subconsciously. I couldn't believe I didn't realize this until now. Her smiles, her laughs, they had all been missing something. I leapt down from the roof and darted down to find Shigure. I found him leaving the kitchen with a plate of sweets, and heading towards his study.

"What's wrong with Miyako?" I demanded. Shigure raised an eyebrow and then sighed, shaking his head.

"So you've noticed too." He responded. Of course, that's what had been bothering him earlier. Then what was it, he seemed to know more than I did, perhaps he had known earlier, what was it?

"What's wrong with her?" I repeated, irritated.

He paused, and then spoke. "She's lonely."

I drew my forehead together. "But she has us, are we not paying enough attention to her? How can I help?" I rushed.

Shigure shook his head.

"It isn't us. It isn't anything that we can do to make it go away, except one thing. Just leave it, I know what to do, and believe me, it's something that only I can do as her older brother. I'm sorry, I would include you if I could, I know that you've gotten attached to her." He sighed.

What? He couldn't leave me out of it!

Seeing that I was about to argue back, angrily, he quickly retreated to his study, closing the door tightly behind him.

I growled, frustrated, and stormed outside. If Shigure couldn't tell me what was wrong, or how to help, I would find out from Miyako herself.

That is, if I managed to find her. She had simply disappeared; Miyako seemed to be good at that. I looked for her around the last section of fence I had spotted her at last on the roof, but she was gone.

Then it occurred to me to look in her "roof".

I raced back to the house and stopped once I reached the porch, and slowly, I crawled underneath into the darkness.

"Miyako, are you here?" I called. Nothing, not even a movement, nor a breath.

As soon as my cat-like eyes became adjusted to the darkness, I began moving quickly underneath the dark, cobweb filled crawl space. I just couldn't see how Miyako liked, or found this place comforting. At all. It seemed as if the walls were closing in on me, about to smother the very breath out of me, like it was going to dispose of me, and I would rot underneath, nobody ever finding me. What a deeply disturbing thought process.

Suddenly, I let out an embarrassingly high pitched squeak as something brushed up against my ankle.

"Did you seriously just squeak? Wimp." Miyako giggled. Her red hair gleamed in the darkness, and she seemed to be able to move around much easier than I could underneath the house.

I turned around so I was looking at her. "Shigure's worried about you, and so am I. What's been bothering you?"

Miyako responded automatically with "I'm fine, just a little tired, I haven't been sleeping very well."

I nodded. "Okay, now what's really been bothering you?"

She sighed, realizing that I wouldn't let her get away with that, I had used those excuses too much to buy them from her lips.

"I actually am tired, but not for that reason. I've been having nightmares, more nightmares than usual. It was seeing Ren again, staying near her, being near her. I could feel her presence in that house; I could almost feel her eyes on me where ever I went. I just need a little time to get over that." She admitted, looking down, studying the dirt.

"Oh, that's all?" I asked, surprised.

She nodded. "I'm sorry for worrying you and Shigure, I just haven't been in my right mind." She tried to smile.

I patted her arm reassuringly. "It's fine. Now I'm going to get out from here and go take a shower. How can you stand it here?" I asked, shuddering as I spied a particularly large spider hanging in the corner.

"It feels comforting to me, it lets me feel warm." She responded."What, is little Kyokyo afraid of spiders?"

She saw me watching that large arachnid out of the corner of my eye.

"N-no." I responded.

"Really?" She smiled. Then she reached over and plucked the huge, hairy spider up and held it out towards me.

With another shriek, I lunged towards the light, and then rushed upstairs, passing a laughing Shigure.

But as I ran, I felt inside that Miyako hadn't been truthful about what was bothering her.


	52. Chapter 52

_But as I ran, I felt inside that Miyako hadn't been truthful about what was bothering her._

_**Chapter Fifty-Two- Miyako's Pov**_

I stroked Yume with two fingers, one of which held the ring that I hadn't yet taken off, and that I never planned to remove. I was lying on my bed, underneath my covers, looking through the photos that were stored on my camera. It was early, early morning, everyone was still tucked away in bed asleep, or at least, so I thought, until I heard a gentle knock at the door.

I shut off my camera and pretended to be asleep, and the door was opened. I could tell that it was Shigure, I could feel it. He was my brother after all. I heard him come closer, and closer, until he was right next to the bed, where he sat down.

"I know you're not asleep Mimi. You can stop pretending." He laughed. I opened my eyes, irritation showing on my face rather obviously.

"How'd you know?" I growled.

"I'm your brother, your older brother." He responded simply. Idiotic dog.

"Baka inu." I groaned.

"I love you too." He chuckled. Then he shifted uncomfortably.

"What is it? Spill." I asked, shifting so I was leaning up with my arm supporting my head. I looked at him.

"Is there somewhere you would rather be Miyako? Don't lie to me." Shigure asked, shocking me.

I studied him. "I have a feeling you already know the answer." I responded, seeing the sad look in his eyes, but they weren't a _sad _sad, they were just a, an almost _knowing _sad.

He sighed, and leaned forwards, resting his head in his hands. "Even I don't know that for sure. All I know is that you're not happy, you're vacant, your smile is gone, you don't laugh with the feeling you used to have, you don't have that glow that you always had, and you are spending all your time outside."

I looked down, guilty.

"Miyako, I'm not angry at you. I just want to know if there is somewhere you would rather be." He persisted.

Reluctantly, I nodded. Tears became to filter into my eyes. "I want to be at the Sohma house." I admitted.

To my surprise, Shigure began to grin, and pulled me into a tight hug. Rocking me gently in his lap, he just held on to me. And I held on to his neck tightly.

"I thought as much." He murmured. I pulled away.

"What do you mean?" I questioned, suddenly suspicious.

He shifted a little awkwardly. "I saw your photos."

I raised my eyebrows, but instead of reacting angrily, I simply asked Shigure a question. "Were they alright?"

He laughed. "They were excellent, you're a natural."

I smiled widely.

"There's that smile." Shigure commented, ruffling my hair.

He got up, putting me back on my bed. "Well, get all packed, and I'll arrange for Hatori to get you a room. Would you like one closer to Akito or Hatori?" My eyes widened.

"What?" I yelled.

Shigure gave a sad smile. That knowing smile. He knew that this was going to happen. He had been planning this the entire time.

"Miyako, you are needed over there. In those pictures I saw people who are never even close to happy smile. They were glowing, laughing, and letting Yume play with them. You even got Hatori to let Momiji ride on his back. And most importantly, you managed to get Akito to smile. They need you over there; you need to make your impact over in the Sohma family, you already made yours here." He explained.

I looked at him. Both of us had tears in our eyes. I didn't move.

"Are you saying, that, that you don't want me here?" I asked.

Shigure shook his head. "I'm saying that you are needed elsewhere. I'm letting you go."

I looked disbelievingly at him.

And then I flung myself at him, tackling him with the tightest hug I had ever given him, which was saying something.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you so much Shishi!" I cried.

"I love you too Miyako. And don't think you won't be coming back, I expect you to come back every weekend to say hello. Got it?" Shigure demanded, a smile slipping past his stern face.

I laughed, and nodded. "Of course, I need to make sure you don't get into too much trouble."

He hugged me again, and then I got off of him.

"I'll leave you to pack." Shigure smiled, and then left, heading in the unmistakable direction of the kitchen. He was going to get fat if he didn't watch it.

I couldn't believe it, he was letting me leave, letting me go and live at the Sohma house, with Akito!

This was a dream come true.


	53. Chapter 53

_This was a dream come true._

_**Chapter Fifty-Three- Miyako's Pov**_

Breaking the news to Kyo hadn't been easy. Needless to say, he was pretty upset.

"What?" He had yelled as soon as Shigure told him the news, I was in the middle of eating some sticky rice.

In fact, it hadn't just been Kyo. Suprisingly enough, Yuki and Tohru seemed sad as well. But Kyo was by far the most affected. As soon as the situation was explained, he raced up to the roof. I knew that I was going to have to talk to him. So I went up to the roof, somewhere that was by far, not my favorite of places. Heights weren't my thing. But it was where Kyo was, so I would make that sacrifice.

"I'm sorry Kyo." I said, sitting down next to him on the roof. His face was void of any emotion, but his eyes showed it all, the tears that were threatening to spill over showed it as well.

The tears worried me the most, tear were so rare for Kyo, even when he was physically hurt.

He finally looked over at me. "You're really leaving aren't you?"

I nodded. He looked away. "Please don't be mad Kyokyo." I begged.

The cat shook his head. "I'm not mad. But do you know how much I'm going to miss you baka kitsune?" He smiled sadly.

I leapt at him and pulled him into a hug. I loved giving hugs; it was just something that I did. "I'll miss you too baka neko." I smiled into his hair as he returned the hug.

"But I'll visit, so it's not like this is the last time you'll ever see me." I promised when I finally pulled away.

"You'd better." He sighed, returning to his regular Kyo expression.

We stared across the land. "Okay, I need to get down, the height is killing me!" I laughed, leaping gracefully off the roof onto the second story of the house.

Kyo chuckled. "Do you need help packing?" He jumped down, landing next to me.

"No, but you could help Tohru make rice balls down in the kitchen." And with that, we went in our separate ways, Kyo going into the kitchen and I go into the study to pack my things.

The first thing I did was pack up the few clothes I owned. Without that shopping trip that Ayame took me on, I would have only one entire outfit in my possession. I then packed the leash that I had bought for Yume at that store a little more than a week ago along with the little leather collar he was wearing. I saw my blue camera, but I didn't pack that, instead, I tucked it safely into my pocket. Then I put my toiletry kit into my bag, and also a small package of sweets I had, again, confiscated from my older brother. I added to the collection the necklace that Yuki got me.

And with that, all of my possessions were packed into a small bag, all but Yume of course, who was too big to be put in the bag with all the things that were already piled inside. Besides, Yume seemed to know that we leaving, and was racing around, enjoying and remembering the various things and scents that were scattered around the house.

With that, I put my backpack over one shoulder, and called to Yume, who came racing, and joined me. I put my pack next to the door, and then entered the dining room where lunch was being served by Tohru. It was rice balls, and before I could stop him, Yume grabbed one that was no doubt stuffed with fish, and raced off down the hall with it, causing everyone to laugh.

"Are you really leaving to live at the Sohma house?" Tohru asked, serving me my share of the food.

I nodded. "Yep. It's going to be great!"

"Even with Ren and Akito?" Yuki asked.

I smiled. "I think that Akito can help me handle Ren." Yuki obviously didn't know that Akito and I were, getting along quite nicely.

"You know what you're going to have to do?" Shigure quizzed me.

I shrugged. "What?"

"You're going to have to take pictures, then show them to us when you come by on the weekends. Alright?" Shigure smiled, obviously pleased with his plan.

I laughed. "Of course Shishi, I wouldn't want you to feel left out. You are my brother."

"Don't forget about us." Kyo grumbled with his mouth full.

I smiled warmly. "How could I possibly?"

Just then, we heard the screen door slid open, and Hatori stepped in. "Hello Shigure, Kyo, Yuki, Tohru, Miyako. How are you this morning?"

"Good, are you hungry by chance Tori? Tohru made rice balls." Shigure patted the empty pillow we always kept for guests.

After some convincing, the doctor sat down, and Tohru automatically served him three rice balls.

"Are you ready?" He asked me, before biting into one of the balls.

I nodded. "Yep, all packed!"

Everyone was smiling, I guess it was true what Shigure said, my happiness did make other happy. And now, it was the rest of the Sohma's turn.

After the last rice ball disappeared from all of our plates, Hatori stood up. We all knew what happened now.

"I'll bring her back in four days for the weekend." Hatori promised Shigure.

He nodded, and then gave Miyako a hug and a kiss on her forehead. "Goodbye my imoto."

"Bye aniki." I smiled at him.

Kyo was next. I gave him a hug as well. "See you neko, keep my brother out of too much trouble." I smiled, and he returned it.

"And you stay out of trouble; just because I'm not there to keep you out of mischief doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want." He said causing me to laugh.

"As if anyone could ever keep me out of trouble." I joked.

Next was Tohru, who looked awkward. But I gave her a hug, which obviously surprised her. "By Ms. Honda. I expect to find a rested and non-obese brother when I get back. Deal?" I asked.

She nodded. And after I gave Yuki a hug, I followed Hatori to the car, Yume following at my heels, and got into the passenger seat of the car. And with that, I was pulled away from Shigure's home, and towards my home.


	54. Chapter 54

_She nodded. And after I gave Yuki a hug, I followed Hatori to the car, Yume following at my heels, and got into the passenger seat of the car. And with that, I was pulled away from Shigure's home, and towards my home._

_**Chapter Fifty-Four- Miyako's Pov**_

"Is this alright?" Hatori questioned. We had just entered a beautiful living room, just a couple doors down from Akito's quarters, and just couple doors down from Hatori's and Ayame's as well.

The room looked out into the very same courtyard that Akito's looked out on, and it was the only other room that did so. The others connected to the garden that Hatori's rooms looked out on. It was a beautiful blue, with grey pillows, all the colors that created a peaceful feel. I walked towards the other sliding door and looked inside into the bed room.

Inside was a breathtaking room. The colors were darker, which made me feel as if I was, underground. The bed was sunken in the corner, and piled high with puffy comforters. On the far side was a low desk with a pillow as the seat, and on the other side was a closet filled with black and red kimonos. It was perfect.

"Thank you so much Tori, I love it!" I smiled. And with the light that flooded into the room, it made it perfect for taking pictures. It was absolutely perfect!

"Good, I'm glad. Now why don't you get settled in? Then you can go surprise Akito, I'm sure he'll be pleased with the current arrangements." The dragon said, and then left.

I smiled, and looked down at Yume who happily gave a very elegant foxish leap, which landed him right on the bed, and he curled into a ball and promptly went to sleep.

"Lazy little fox." I laughed, and then unpacked my things, carefully placing my camera on the desk, and hanging up my clothes in the closet. I also hung the leash up in the closet on a small peg that was on the side, just in case I ever needed to bring the fox out into the public. Then I added to the peg the necklace that Yuki had given me. And finally, I put the package of sweets on a tray that was sitting on the table in the living room.

Then I glanced out at Akito's garden. No, now it was my garden as well. And at that moment, pure happiness overwhelmed me, and I gave a happy squeal, and leapt into the bedroom, cuddling Yume close. I just couldn't believe how lucky I was, I was going to live in this beautiful place, two whole rooms just for me, and close to three of the most important people in my life. Sure there were downsides, like Ren and the lack of Shigure or Kyo, but Ren I could avoid, and Shigure and Kyo I would visit as much as I needed to.

Now I didn't have to pretend to smile, or laugh just to comfort others, I could smile and glow, and make others smile and shine. I could spend all the time I wanted with Akito, I could look after him when he was sick, and I could finally belong in the world of the zodiacs. I didn't have to hide out with monks; I wasn't going to be trapped in a dark, cold room with Ren. I was going to be here.

And with that, I got up, and ran out the sliding door, and down the porch that lined the garden. I raced quietly down a couple rooms worth of porch, and then, I carefully poked my head into Akito's room. He was facing away from the door, lucky for me, and was eating. As quietly as I could, which was pretty remarkable and soundless, I snuck up behind him, and then sat down, a good few feet away from him, so he wouldn't fall over me when he turned.

Soon enough, he stood up, and started to turn, no doubt to go and sit by the door, and then he saw me. Akito's eyes widened and he stared at me, and then shook his head, as if he thought I was an illusion. When he saw that I didn't go anywhere, his entire face lit up, and he raced towards me.

I stood up and he hugged me tightly gripping my shoulders, and I, in turn, gripped his waist, burrowing my face into his neck. It seemed like years instead of just days since I had felt his arms around me, since I had heard his soft breath.

"What are you doing back so soon?" Akito asked, pulling away, curiosity getting the best of him. I grinned at his confusion; this was going to be fun.

"Well, Shigure noticed I seemed a little sad, so he decided to let me come here, see if that would cheer me up. And so far, it's working pretty well." I smiled.

Akito smiled as well. "How long are you planning on staying? A day? A few days?" His eyes were so desperate, I almost felt bad that I would eventually have to leave, until I remembered that I now lived here.

"I don't know, how long will you let me keep that room that's two doors down from yours?" I asked.

Akito looked puzzled, but then, a light bulb went off in his mind, and his entire face brightened, his eyes glowed with happiness.

"You're, you're staying? You moved in?" Akito stuttered, something that rarely happened.

"Just an hour ago, yep. Now you're stuck with me." I grinned.

His smile took over his entire face, a smile like I had never seen before. A smile of true and pure happiness, satisfaction, peace. And with that, he pulled me to him, and gently our lips touched, like they would again and again.

I smiled into the kiss, as I would for all the rest of the kisses that he would give me.

I let my fingers wander into his hair, wrapping my hands into it and pulling his face even closer to mine, like I always would.

His own hands wandered on my back and waist, drawing calm small circles, as they always would.

And when we finally pulled away from each other, finally released one another, we smiled, as we would every time our kisses ended.

"I hope you don't get tired of me." I whispered, staring into his dark eyes, that were now not cold and vacant as others so often seen them as, but now filled with a happy, loving light.

"I won't ever get tired of you, I promise."

"_I won't hurt you, I promise." _I remembered all the promises he had made in the past. And he had never once broken them.

And with that, I pulled him into another gentle kiss.

And this is where this story ends, but it certaintly isn't the end, not yet. No, this is merely the start. And so I will not end this with simply saying "the end", because that would be a lie. No I will end this with the truth, with just two words.

_The Beginning_

_**Author's Note: **__**STAY TUNED**__**! THERE WILL BE AN **__**EPILOUGE**__** WITH AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE!**_


	55. Epilogue

_And with that, I pulled him into another gentle kiss._

_And this is where this story ends, but it certaintly isn't the end, not yet. No, this is merely the start. And so I will not end this with simply saying "the end", because that would be a lie. No I will end this with the truth, with just two words._

_The Beginning_

_**Epilogue- Shigure's Pov**_

I was sitting next to Hatori, watching as Ayame preformed the celebratory dance that introduced his year, the year of the snake. It had been almost two years since Miyako had left to live in the Sohma house, and since then, she had been visiting every weekend, and a couple week days when she had the time.

She was surprisingly busy, always interacting with the zodiacs, or looking after Akito. They hadn't separated as I had originally feared they would by forcing them to spend so much time together, no, in fact, they had done the quite the opposite and grown much closer. Miyako and Akito were so obviously in love, and they couldn't make a better couple. Happy and energetic Miyako always brought out the happiness that the god had tucked deep within him, and Akito was able to handle the fox's occasional tricks and her lively ways.

The only one that didn't like them together was of course Ren, but they had completely disregarded her persistent verbal abuse. Instead, they focused on each other. Miyako showed all of us photographs of Akito, and the other zodiacs whenever she came over, each photo getting more and more improved, her talent obviously showing. She perfected her talent, and then, she published her very first book, a book of various photographs, put together to tell a complex tragic story that ended in love, very much like Miyako's own life story.

Whenever I visited, which I had to admit, wasn't very often, I always brought Kyo along with me. Even though he was reluctant to go, he went, for Miyako. And when we did come, we would be tackled into tight hugs by Miyako, who then led us to her room to show us the various pictures she had lining her walls, all taken by her. She then would sit us down in her living room and demand to know what was happening with our lives. And we would tell her, we would tell her the most recent way that I tortured my poor editor, and Kyo would tell her about how well he was doing in school, since she had dropped out. Our stories always made her smile and laugh, and gave us our share of Miyako's glow, that kept us going until she visited us, or we visited her, whichever came first.

I looked over at Akito. He was sitting on his throne-like chair in the back of the room. Underneath him, leaning casually against the bottom of his solid chair, was Miyako. Her red, orange, and white hair had grown, and now reached down her back in a shaggy straight cut. Her eyes were shut, simply rejoicing in the music that was playing, in the quite whispers that passed around the room and the familiar sounds that each person made on their own. My little sister was wearing a long black kimono, lined with red fabric, and underneath she wore long baggy black pants, the ends of each leg cuffed with the same red fabric. Her hand was clasped in Akito's, who was sitting in a long regal looking kimono, and who had his eyes open, surveying the banquet, watching over all of the zodiacs. Even though his black hair hid most of his face, I could still see the glow that shone from within him, the glow that was brought out by Miyako, the fox.

The whole scene reminded me of a particular illustration in a book, from a while ago.

It had been a beautiful illustration. Of a young girl, sitting under against a large, throne that held a young boy. The girl had long red hair that reached down her back in a shaggy cut, and the boy had his bangs resting against the sides of his face, and hanging into his eyes. He wore a regal looking kimono, while she wore baggy black pants and a red and black kimono. And they were just sitting there, the girl perfectly content to sit right underneath the boy, who looked perfectly content just by having her there, with him. Their hands were clasp together, the boy's eyes open, the girl's eyes closed.

The illustration in the zodiac book. It hadn't been from before the supposed theft of the necklace, as Miyako had originally thought. It was afterwards, it was when the fox had accepted the offer of the god to be cursed with him, with all the others, to stay with him forever. There was only one little detail that wasn't in the illustration, but I suppose you couldn't expect each individual fox and god to relive the same scene.

In this world, in this time, in this banquet, a small red creature rested next to the throne, a red paw gently sitting on his master's leg. It was a sleeping fox, now grown from when Miyako received him two years back. Yume.

At with one final satisfied glance, I turned my head back to the dance of the snake.

_**Author's Note *IMPORTANT*: **_Well, this is the end of Miyako. But this character doesn't end here. I will be posting **another Miyako story, **a prequel. If this interests you, tell me. It will be really, really good, I promise! Review! And I love all of you for sticking with me for fifty-five chapters! That's A LOT!

-Echo


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